100 Sweet Nothings
by Misty Mina
Summary: My 100 prompt challenge! 100 Oneshots starring your fav. pairing Inferno and Red Alert. You voted for it and now you'll get it.
1. 1 Karma

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine...but I want to have it. :(

**Author's note:** You wanted it and you will get it. The readers voted for Inferno x Red Alert and I must say, good choice. ^^ I had some trouble to decide what to write first. Why didn't I just go according to the list, you ask? Because this would really kill my motivation to write it. There is no room for creative ideas if you follow the script.

I tried everything! I tried to think of a number but I couldn't. I rolled a dice (but mine goes only to six. XD ) and I tried random numbers on the I-net, but somehow felt cheated since those programs use mathematical formula's and wouldn't be random.

So I took the time and effort to write each one of them down, folded them and put them in a box. After shaking it one or two times I just picked one. Now many would think it's idiotic, but I think it served it's purpose. It can't be more random. XD

~o~o~o~

**1. Karma**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

Appearance is the most important thing in the universe. An unspoken rule between the worlds. Everything is based upon it. If you look mean, people will assume you are mean. If you look cute, most people will have the urge to cuddle you.

So no wonder that the twins thought the same thing. Appearance is everything. The way you look is the way you are.

But somehow the rule doesn't really fit with Red Alert. He was a Lamborghini alright. Yet he was neither very tall nor really good looking. (Now really, where does he put his alt mode if he's so short? )

Anyway, Red Alert was a sports car with a powerful engine. So the twins thought their fellow Lamborghini should at least choose a mate, who had a sports car alt mode as well. Like Tracks for example. Others should know in what category their security director belonged to.

To their absolute horror, Red Alert started to take an interest in his bodyguard Inferno.

A fire truck? ...A slow, big, ugly fire truck? You had to be kidding! This would scratch their honor as Lamborghinis. No way! Not if the twins had a say in this!

Something had to be done about this before Inferno might notice and on the top of all reciprocate those feelings. The twins decided it was up to them to stop this madness.

Those two would 'never', 'never ever' be together!

Too bad the twins didn't know the second universal rule.

'Never' ...is Karma's doorbell.

~o~o~o~

The first plan was to make Inferno into something Red wouldn't want. And the best way was to spread some rumors. Like he was a berth hopper or he was never interested in mechs before and never would be. At first things were looking good for the twins and the rumors spread like wildfire.

But somehow due to hearsay, the rumors started to morph into the opposite. Now Inferno was an honest Autobot, who had his optics set on mechs. Which only piqued Red's interest.

Slapping their foreheads, the twins scratched out the first plan. Onto the second.

~o~o~o~

The second plan was to make Red Alert unattractive for Inferno. So that the fire engine would never even consider him as lover. Sideswipe played one prank after another while Sunstreaker tried to break as many rules as he could. Fighting the minibots, trashing the med bay and painting the corridors were the harmless ones. Ok, this landed them in the brig most of the time, but Red Alert was stressed enough to let his glitch run wild.

It worked and Inferno avoided Red Alert. But only because he didn't want to add to Red's stress. It didn't matter why. All that mattered was that he stayed away, which was fine with the Duo.

This lasted only until the day Sideswipe decided to scare the other Lamborghini. He'd seen Red Alert in the rec room sipping on his energon with sparking horns and a light tremble in his movements. Another night without recharge thanks to his yellow twin.

Sunstreaker had walked through the base with a brush and a can of paint, but didn't paint anything. Sometimes he had stopped and glanced at a wall as if he considered it to be the best place for his next painting. But then he shook his helmet and continued his way.

Red Alert couldn't arrest him for merely walking through the base at night and Sunstreaker was off duty the next day anyway. Enough time to recharge. So the only thing the security director could do was to watch the yellow twin carefully. Of course, there never was a painting and Red Alert had been on guard for nothing. Which only resulted in dim, exhausted optics and a very twitchy Red Alert. Something Sideswipe found very amusing.

The red twin crept up behind his unsuspecting victim. It seemed like Red's sensory network wasn't really working when he was tired. An information he filed away for later purposes.

When he was close enough Sideswipe turned up his vocalizer and yelled: "SECURITY BREACH", right next to Red's audio receptors.

In his panic, Red spilled his cube on his chestplate and almost clogged up his intakes because the energon went down the wrong tube.

Sideswipe was almost rolling on the ground with laughter. This was just too good.

Suddenly Inferno stood in the doorway looking like he'd driven on highspeed to get to the rec room. He must have been close when Red Alert had yelped in fright. The next reaction was not something Sideswipe expected.

He'd expected for Inferno to grab him and haul his aft to the brig. Not that the fire engine would just stay and stare at Red Alert like he'd never seen him before. Now really, who would find spilled energon on someone's chassis interesting? But Inferno kept staring and made Red Alert feel uncomfortable.

"What?" The small Lamborghini asked. It was embarrassing to look like a mess in front of your crush.

Shaking his helmet slightly Inferno had the decency to look away before he stomped over to Sideswipe. He took the frontliner in a headlock and brought him out of the rec room. The red twin was too shocked to protest. Had he'd seen it, or imagined it? Inferno's faceplates had a red hue, something the humans would call a blush.

Now he wanted to slam his helmet against a wall. Perhaps he'd not only spoiled their good plan, but also made Inferno look at the security director in a different light.

This called for desperate measures!

~o~o~o~

They really tried everything.

They'd send Red Alert Sword- and Spider lilies in Inferno's name. ...How were they supposed to know that those flowers had nothing to do with swords or spiders which would look like a threat to Red Alert? Stupid humans and the stupid irrational naming of flowers!

They tried to make Inferno look weak and incapable of taking care of himself when they battled the Decepticons. Interfering whenever possible. Ok, he took a few potshots, ruined paintjobs and one or the other dent. Nothing too serious and nothing their medic couldn't fix.

It only resulted in Red Alert taking care of Inferno and said fire engine was enjoying the attention immensely.

Sunstreaker went so far to use permanent marker on Red Alert while he was in recharge. And the marker was really hard to get off. Not like others which could be washed away or wiped off with denatured alcohol.

Red Alert had to use a special solvent which washed off his own paintjob as well, leaving him metaphorically naked. Wheeljack and Ratchet took the time to repaint Red Alert and to polish him as well. When they were finished, the Lamborghini looked better than ever. Even better than Sunstreaker on his best wax-job-days. Needless to say Inferno was mesmerized by Red's now shining beauty.

Their last try was on fourth of July when everyone would celebrate the Independence Day. Sideswipe left a note in the monitor room, which only said that Red should meet Inferno outside. If Inferno would stand up Red, it would surely crush the smaller mech's hopes.

There were music, fireworks, happy humans, but no Inferno.

The twins stood around the corner, already celebrating their victory, when Red Alert came running through the entrance of the Ark. But instead of running straight for the monitor room or his quarters to mope or even cry, the security director practically flung himself into Inferno's arms. The fire truck had been looking for Red Alert and was worried when he couldn't find him.

Stunned Inferno bent slightly down to look at the smaller mech. It wasn't really in Red's nature to be so carefree with touching.

"Red? Wha..." Inferno started concerned, but couldn't really finish the sentence since Red had silenced him with his own lip components.

The twins were close to a spark attack. Wasn't Red Alert freaked out by the fireworks? Not thinking it was all a plot against him? Wasn't he hurt because his crush stood him up? Shouldn't he be, at least, mad that he'd been called out for nothing?

When they separated, Inferno could only stare with dazed optics while Red's faceplates seemed to light up with happiness.

"Thank you Inferno. Thank you so much. ...That was the best Spark Day gift ever."

Inferno didn't even know that it was Red's Spark Day, it was not like he'd told him or anyone else. But he'd be a fool of Starscream's caliber to not take advantage of the situation.

"...Ya're welcome." He said with a slight grin.

The Duo was ready to crash. Ok, Perceptor had calculated everyone's Spark Day, but Earth time was very different from cybertronian time. It could take many years before one's Spark Day would come up. Tough luck for them that Red Alert's had been on this day.

However judging from Red's behavior, he thought the fireworks and the music and all were for him in celebration of his Spark Day and all Inferno's idea. Could this be? That perhaps Red Alert didn't know about the Independence Day?

It was over. The twins were defeated. They had tried and tried again, but the universe was against them. Primus himself was against them!

They were moping and miffed about the whole thing for a few days, but had no other choice than to accept it.

Maybe those two were just meant to be despite everything.

~o~o~o~

end...

YAY, I just loved writing this. Practically wrote itself. Karma is really a bitch. (Call me Karma! XD ) Hope you liked it. ^^


	2. 2 Vengeance

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine...but I want to have it. :(

**Author's note:** Ok, this Oneshot might be a bit disturbing. But I was so on a roll when I wrote it.

~o~o~o~

**2. Vengeance**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

Red Alert sneaked carefully through his enemies base. He was searching for his lover, who'd been taken away by them. Were they really so stupid to think that he'd just stand by and let them have their way with Inferno?

No way!

Normally he would have listened to Prime. But then his leader claimed that Inferno was just gone! Hah, what a joke. Inferno was here, held hostage and waiting for help. Which would never come if Optimus had his way. Red Alert didn't know why the truck chose to lie to him instead of rescuing Inferno.

In fact nobody seemed to care that one of them, an Autobot, was missing! What had gotten into them? Was he the only sane bot around?

He wouldn't be deceived by the enemy! He knew Inferno was here! Somewhere. And they would pay! He was going to make sure of that. Nobody took his love and got away with it.

Most of the time Red was a reliable mech. Always following orders. Always doing his best on duty. Always making sure that everybody was safe. And what were they doing? Those wonderful, always saving-the-day heroes, the Autobots? Abandoning him when he needed them the most.

Fine, see if he cared. It didn't matter now. All that mattered was freeing his love and getting the slag out of here.

Inferno had vanished right after he'd saved Cliffjumper and Bumblebee from an attack. Bumblebee was at least grateful for what the fire truck had done for him. But Cliffjumper was his usual self. Too many issues in his processor to even say a simple 'thank you'.

That sure as pit didn't help Red Alert's mood. Those damn, little pipsqueaks! Useless minibots! If it weren't for them, Inferno wouldn't have gotten into this mess. At least he understood now why his fellow Lamborghini hated them so much. They were weak and always relied on someone else. Lamborghinis despised weakness!

On the other hand, the fire engine would be sad if he hadn't saved them in time. But Red was sure he could help if Inferno let him. But no! Inferno wanted to be a hero. And now look what happened.

Red Alert's high sensitive sensory network caught movements at the end of the hallway. Red hid in the shadows making sure to suppress his glitch. Sparking horns were the last thing he wanted.

A small mech walked past him, not even noticing the hidden security director. How careless. This was surely a trap to lure him out! But did he have a choice? He didn't know were they kept his mate. It was only his luck that the mech was smaller than himself.

He snuck up behind the enemy, then gathered enough electrical energy in his servo and struck the mech down. Good thing he'd practiced that. He'd found out his horns generated enough energy to paralyze a bot. And if he used his own network, he could gather it in his servos. It was painful, but not enough to damage him.

When the mech was down he dragged him off to a storage room which he'd found on his way. The dust, that had gathered there over time, was a sure sign that it hadn't been used in a while.

He made sure to tie the bot up and deactivate all his weapons. It was useful to have some basic medical knowledge.

Good thing he had a small laser with him. It was only used for medical purposes to cut through metal, but it would serve well as an interrogation tool.

His servo still stung from the electrical shock he'd used on the other. Red Alert disregarded the pain and held the laser in a tight grip. He would make sure the little pest would tell him about his lover's whereabouts and if he had to use Decepticon tactics to make them talk so Primus help him he would!

The Lamborghini was too far gone to turn back now.

'_Only for you, Inferno.'_ It was the only thought which gave him the strength to go through with this.

The enemy was still out and Red Alert was not really patient right now. So he gave the mech a wake-up call by kicking his leg.

"OW, ...what the frag..?"

Pointing the laser at the mech Red Alert used his best glare to intimidate him.

"Where is Inferno?" He didn't really ask, he demanded to know.

The mech gave him a look like he'd grown another pair of optics.

"Inferno?..." He repeated slowly, as if hearing the designation for the first time.

"Yeah, you took him away. Where. Is. He?" Red Alert was growing frustrated with this dense mech. There weren't many prisoners here, were they?

"Let me go, you glitch!" The little pest relied on insults now.

Red Alert switched the laser on and came closer.

"You should talk or I'll have to force you." He threatened.

That got the others attention. He stared between the Lamborghini and the laser.

"You're fragging loony!" He spat out angrily.

What was that mech's armor color? Red? Too bad it wouldn't stay like that for long.

Red Alert gave no further warning. He bent down and made sure to leave a small cut in his captive's shoulder joint. Of course the other yelled in pain, but it was not like anyone could hear him anyway. The energon flowed slowly out of the severed tubes which had been cut in the process. Now the armor wasn't so red anymore, the liquid stained it into a sickening sweet pink.

"Again! Where is Inferno?" Red Alert would get his information, even if he had to cut the other up until he fit into a recycling bin.

"Aaahh, damn it. He's gone!"

For a moment, Red Alert felt his spark freeze up. No, no he couldn't mean gone in the sense of being dead. Could he? No, Inferno had probably escaped or maybe they'd moved him out of the base?

Another cut followed just to spite his little victim earning him another pain filled cry.

"Where to? Did he escape?"

Red Alert felt his frustration turn into anger. He actually went through all this trouble and now it should've been for naught?

"Escape? What are you talking 'bout, fragger?" Red really hated insults. This time he held the laser over one spot. It burned through the armor into the circuitry and singed the sensors underneath. The cries of the slagger were almost music for Red's audios.

"If he didn't escape, then you moved him out. Where to? Tell me or I'll fry every single sensor in your frame!"

"You're mad, glitch-head! He is gone! Dead! Deactivated! Didn't Prime tell you that?"

Red Alert froze up...Deactivated? ...His beloved fire truck, gone?

No, this couldn't be, could it?

Red Alert almost let the laser slide out of his servo. But suddenly a surge of confidence gripped his spark. Was he defect?

This was the enemy!

"Lies..." He mumbled.

The other tried to squirm away from him.

"It's true. He didn't survive the last battle!"

Red had a tight grip on the laser again. How dare he? How dare he lied to him so cruelly? He shouldn't have expected anything else from an enemy!

"Liar, ...Liar, liarliarliarliar LIAR!"

Each time he called the other that, he made another cut into the chassis. The mech screamed in pain almost falling into stasis from the sheer amount of warnings that popped up. But it didn't stop him from repeating the words.

"He is dead! Inferno is dead! Get that into your processor!"

Red Alert had enough! Those lies! He couldn't hear them anymore! Inferno was here and they were hiding him.

It was a plot!

A plot to drive him into madness!

Make him weak enough to catch him off guard. But he wouldn't let them! Instead, he would keep looking and he would make them pay! All of them would pay! One after another!

Suddenly the word 'scrap heap' fell and Red lost control.

Screaming out his fury, Red Alert pounced his prey and led the laser across the neck cables, cutting through them and through vital energon tubes.

Without the precious liquid it was only a matter of breems before the spark would extinguish. Red Alert stood over the liar, enjoying the gurgling sound he made when the energon flowed into his air intakes. Soon enough the other's optics dimmed and his frame stopped twitching.

Ok, so Red didn't get the information he wanted, but there were many others. Hopefully they wouldn't be so stubborn like this one. Looking around, he noticed a few empty storage boxes. He dragged the now deactivated mech towards one and put him inside, hiding the body from prying eyes. No need to draw any unwanted attention towards him, right?

He pulled a cloth from his subspace and wiped the spilt energon from his armor. Then he turned and left the storage room while putting the cloth away.

But the Lamborghini had been too careless and when he walked around the corner, he bumped into someone else.

"Oh, sorry. Didn' see you there."

Calm, he had to stay calm.

"It's ok. It's not like you've hurt me or anything."

The other didn't really believe him.

"You sure? I mean, ...because, ...you know..." Whatever the other had to say, he didn't dare to say it out loud.

"Yeah, I'm ok. As ok, as I can be." Hopefully that was convincing.

Nodding the other continued walking, but stopped abruptly before Red Alert could walk away.

"Wait a minute. Say Red Alert, ...have you seen Cliffjumper?"

"No, not today. Sorry Jazz."

"Ok, Thanks." With that Jazz walked away.

Taking a relieved intake of air, Red Alert continued walking. He still had to find Inferno. He was in a base full of enemies now.

Cliffjumper and Bumblebee took Inferno away! The whole crew held him hostage, not mentioning a word about him! Prime lying to him and saying he'd been deactivated. There was nobody he could trust!

The Autobots brought this upon themselves.

Yes, Vengeance would be his and Red Alert vowed to send a hymn of death through the base if they kept hiding Inferno away from him.

Cliffjumper was only the beginning.

Bumblebee should be next.

And Prime would be the last.

~o~o~o~

end. ^^

Ok, this was crazy, I'll admit that. But I always wondered what would happen if Red's glitch would take over. (Or what comes out of watching Higurashi too often. XD )


	3. 3 Rain

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine...but I want to have it. :(

**Author's note:** I admit this is really the shortest Oneshot I have ever written so far. But I think it turned out well and deep.

~o~o~o~

**3. Rain**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

Standing outside of the Ark in the pouring rain was a useless thing to do. Drops of water raining down from the sky in endless streams of gray. It wasn't that great and Red Alert could think of better ways to pass the time. However it sounded like a good idea now.

He had been thrown out of the monitor room since Ratchet thought he was working too much. But standing around doing nothing was also pointless.

Normally he would spend the time with his best friend, but Inferno was on duty right now and wouldn't be off for a while.

He thought the rain on Earth was very different than the rain on Cybertron. The rain on his home planet was corrosive and painful. Whenever it would start, you better stayed home or look for shelter.

Earth's rain was sometimes warm, sometimes cold, sometimes soothing and sometimes strong. The weather here was moody like the planet itself.

Today the rain was soothing. It ran down his armor like a feathery caress. A bit cold, but still comforting. A lover's touch which will never be.

Red Alert loved the rain on Earth.

Because it caressed everything it touched, even a paranoid glitch like himself. Something others would never bestow upon him willingly. He was not naive enough to believe it would come to him as well.

So he stood outside, enjoying it while it lasted. Let Ratchet chew him out. Let Prime worry. Let the enemy think he was an easy target. It didn't matter, not right now.

~o~o~o~

Again he stood outside in the pouring rain. Water pouring down from the sky only to run over his optics and blur his view. What was so great about falling water anyway? Ok, it was useful and that was it.

Red seemed to think otherwise.

He seemed to enjoy the drops on his armor. The sound it made when it hit the ground. The feeling of clean metal.

This was insanity.

The element had everything which he could never have. A whim of nature had taken from him what he had always desired.

To touch that red and white frame. To worship it with fleeting caresses. To claim the mech's attention for a moment in time.

He was not about to give up. Not to something that wasn't even a sentient being. He knew the jealousy he felt was consuming him. And he would let it. Let it consume him. Let others think he was insane. Let it shatter his restraint.

Because Inferno really hated the rain on Earth.

~o~o~o~

end.

If you never stood outside while it rained, then you've missed something. ^^ I for example, love warm summer rain. Enough of that. If you've taken a look on my list in my profile you might notice something. All oneshots had a 2 at the end. Nr. 32. Karma, Nr. 42. Vengeance, Nr. 72. Rain. I swear it was really random. But it's still funny. ^^


	4. 4 Traitor

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:** Ok, I've posted this first on deviantart since FF-net wouldn't let me. This One shot may seem a bit strange. However, I'm glad I could finish this. I'm sick, I feel like crap and writing this was an ordeal. Despite my permanent headache it turned out quite good, I'm pleased with it. You can see this as a friendship fic. or if you really insist then yes perhaps there is a hint of something. ^^

~o~o~o~

**4. Traitor**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

It was really hard being a Decepticon. But it was harder being a Decepticon prisoner in an Autobot base. The recent battle hadn't been important. At least not for their cause. It was only a distraction for these slagging goody-goody bots.

However, he was the only one who got caught. His own mistake. Why did he have to stay back and fight? Because it was in his programming? Or to aid his own comrades? He didn't know. Now, it didn't matter anyway.

He was neither a high officer nor a mech of importance. If he knew anything, than that Megatron wouldn't lift a servo for cannon fodder! He had nothing to fear from him and he couldn't expect the tyrant to save him either.

Yet at the moment, he didn't know what was worse. Megatron's anger or the boredom he felt as a prisoner. The Autobots were just too fragging nice. So nice it bordered on cruelty. Ok, so he had survived and lived, but he was restricted to a small area in a cell with nothing to do than to stare at metallic walls. A shot to the spark chamber would have been more merciful.

He almost welcomed the times when his captors decided to interrogate him. Not like he could or would tell them anything. Lord Megatron doesn't like to share his plans with his foot soldiers.

There was always the possibility to change factions.

To be a traitor.

It wouldn't be so bad. From what he'd heard the Prime was a decent leader and the soldiers were treated with respect. But somehow he couldn't see the meaning of their cause. He couldn't see it working for himself.

To coexist peacefully with other creatures in this universe. To live in peace and harmony.

This was boring.

To live meant to fight! Fight for your live, for your existence and for the right to exist!

It was all he wanted, knew and saw in the Decepticon cause. However conquering the universe was something he could do without. He didn't care about that. If his liege wanted to rule over the infinity of the universe, then let him. He will realize soon enough that this meant more work and fried processors than mere fighting.

The Autobots had made it clear that they wouldn't kill him. Perhaps exchange him for comrades of their own. This could take awhile, since his big-boss didn't think much of prisoners.

So what to do?

He'd tried everything!

Trying to escape, pacing or jumping around in circles, singing, humming after the guards complained, training and denting the walls around him with one or two punches. The only thing he hadn't done was deactivating himself.

So at the moment, he was sitting on the floor with his peds stretched out. Once or twice one ped would slide unconsciously over the ground and make a scraping sound. The sound was annoying, but calming at the same time. It was better than doing nothing at all.

Time went by and with each passing breem his frustration grew. When he put too much strength into his ped it actually damaged the floor with a long scratch. But something else happened as well. The friction between his ped and the floor had created small sparks.

Of course!

He could've slapped himself. Maybe there was a way to kill two turbofoxes with one shot.

He searched the ground, but cursed when it was squeaky clean. Frag, these goody bots have a cleaning fetish! Decepticons never bothered with that. Oh well, meant only he had to use something else.

Standing up, he removed his wrist armor and searched in his circuitry for an oil tube. When he'd found one small enough, he ripped it out and let the liquid drip on the floor. Not so clean anymore, was it? Oil was important for his joints, however he didn't use them much when he was copped up in that cell. He could certainly spare a few drops.

Satisfied with the small puddle he bent down and used his servos to spread it over the ground. When a large part was covered in oil he swung his ped, trying to create the same friction again to create sparks and ignite the resulting fire. Hopefully the guards would think it was one of his usual ways to relieve his boredom.

It took a few tries and it stung but it was worth it. Soon one tiny glimmer managed to grow into a red, hot flame.

The fire spread throughout the cell using every single drop on the ground as nourishment.

This was beautiful.

If anything managed to catch his attention it was the red flower of death. If he couldn't fight, couldn't get out of this cell then let him offline for good. But in the way he'd always wished to deactivate. Engulfed by his only weakness.

Megatron would be pleased as well. It meant sacrificing one measly soldier and take a few Autobots out in the process. He was sure they would try to extinguish the flames with water. Such fools. It would only fuel his creation. Spread it throughout the underground cells and roast the enemies above him.

He could feel it. The flames licking at his armor, trying to draw him in and be the center of their burning attention. And he welcomed them with open arms, mesmerized by their dance.

Now he could hear the yells of the guards. They screamed the name of his creation in terror and fright.

'_Yes, come and try to stop it. Use your water canons!'_ He thought while he sunk to the ground. The heat fried his sensors one after another. Warnings popped up, but he ignored them all.

As expected, the door to his cell opened, but what hit the flames wasn't the expected water. It was some kind of white foam. A mech, smaller than himself fought his way into the cell. He extinguished all the flames and when he saw him lying on the ground he used the foam to cool his circuits.

His wonderful creation, the beautiful, burning divinity he'd unleashed. Gone. Just like that. Not even smoke was left of it. What was worse was the fact that he was still online and would soon be the victim of boredom again.

"You alright?" His savior asked. Was that actually concern in his voice? How disgusting!

Once he removed the foam from his red optics, he got a good look at the Autobot.

A red and white frame, pale blue optics and yes, he was right, smaller than himself. Your typical Autobot! A knight in shining armor, ...too bad he wasn't dangling at the end of a noose.

If he still had the strength, he could've taken him on, no problem. But looking through his damage report, he realized it was only enough to sit up and talk, so he did just that with every bit of energy left.

"You, ...should kill me, Autoscum!" He spat, still furious that this puny bot messed up his plan.

Primus seemed to spite him. The mech didn't even draw his gun. It would be common sense, wouldn't it? One enemy less to take care of or be concerned about. Why couldn't he get one of the trigger-happy bots? Why did it have to be one who could actually control his temper?

"That's not how we treat prisoners!"

Oh wonderful. Another hypocrite! Don't kill the prisoners, but don't hold back on the battlefield and kill as many as you can. Just like those twins. The yellow and the red one. Everybody in the Decepticon ranks feared them. If you happen to cross their path, they make sure it would be the last thing you do.

"There is no... difference! Here or... the battlefield. ...It doesn't matter.!" That was one of the few things Decepticons were honest about.

The Autobot leaned down just enough to look directly into his deep red optics. He hadn't the strength left to raise his servos or he would try to rip out the main tube on the other's neck.

"We don't fight to kill. We fight to protect! Protect everything dear to us. Our home, our loved ones, our life and our future. It's not us who starts every battle out there." This mech had bearings of chrome steel to talk to a Decepticon as if they were a sparkling.

As much as he hated to admit it, but the little fragger had a point. His own faction always started the battles because they wanted to gain territory. Was that what the Autobot cause was truly about? To protect? Not that boring slag about peace, freedom and living happily ever after?

With that, the other got up and left the cell, making room for a medic who'd waited patiently for orders.

It didn't take long, most of the damage was superficial anyway. When he was well enough to walk, he trudged behind the medic, with one guard on each side to the med bay. Just to make sure he had no internal damages.

The guards strapped him down on the berth, so that the medic could work on him without fearing for his life.

He didn't pay attention to the minibot who was now working on him. Those words were spinning round and round in his processor. Fight to protect. The concept was alien to him and yet familiar as well. He'd always fought to protect himself, but protect others? Why should he? It was not like anyone would protect him. That he'd seen in the battle, which got him here in the first place.

But, if those words were true...

He didn't finish the thought since the medic called the guards to escort him back. Obviously he had to come back another time since they didn't have all components for him to repair the minor damage, but he would be fine for awhile. Not as good as new but fine.

The guards put him in a new cell and left him to his own musings.

After a few cycles he had come to a decision. He stood up and called the guards.

"Whadya want?" The red mech asked. If he wasn't mistaken that one was of the trigger-happy sort.

"I want to talk to Optimus Prime." He demanded.

"And what fer?" Oh, a grumpy one too.

"...I have a proposition to make!"

~o~o~o~

The deed was done.

After he'd told Optimus what he knew about three secret Decepticon laboratories, which he'd guarded with others, the Prime accepted his condition of their deal. But not without some rules attached to it. A rebuilt, constant supervision during his probation time, learning each and every rule of the base and finally a few sessions with their resident CPU-Prodder, ...pardon, psychologist.

He couldn't believe it. A red symbol had replaced the purple one.

He was an Autobot now!

A traitor to his old faction! And he didn't even regret it.

The rebuilt wasn't really necessary, but if Prime thought it was better, then he wouldn't argue with that. To top it all, he even went so far to change his way of talking, willingly!

He just wanted to keep one thing. His designation! He'd always been proud of it and it was not like Megatron knew every soldier in his big army.

Anyway, today he was going to get a new task. After proving himself in battle countless times and having the ...prod...' psychologist's' official consent, his new leader thought it would be good for him to learn one or two things about the protection of others. So he was going to partner him up with someone.

From what he'd been told, the mech in question was the security director of the base and a bit on the paranoid side. He needed someone who looked out for him. A bodyguard.

They entered a room which held many monitors inside. ...If he took a wild guess he'd say it was the monitor room.

Well the base was small wasn't it? Inside the room was the one mech he could never forget, because he'd changed his way of thinking. However at the moment, the monitors seemed more interesting to him than the visitors.

"Red Alert, could you spare a moment?" Optimus asked politely.

So Red Alert, was it? He'd never had the chance to ask for his designation. The other mech turned around and their optics, now both blue, met for the 'first' time. At least where Red Alert was concerned.

"I want you to meet your new partner and bodyguard." The Prime finished, leaving it to him to introduce himself. Like a proper Autobot, ...without a gun in his servo.

He held out his servo to the red and white mech.

"Hi, I'm Inferno. ...Nice tha meet cha."

~o~o~o~

Do I always have to write 'end'? I think you can see the end of the story without me pointing out the obvious. ^^

...

...Now what did I think when I wrote the story? Some will scream that I've lost it all. No, I haven't. I assure you, there's still something left to lose. XD

Anyway, I've studied Inferno's behavior a bit and he really is someone who can't sit still if a fight is going on. And I've recently watched a few episodes of Beast Wars, mostly with the Predacon 'Inferno' in them. So, yeah you get my point. (Two fighting pyromaniacs XD ) Also if anything, Inferno's name struck me always as 'odd' among the Autobots.


	5. 5 Memory

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:**I know what you want to say! "There is not enough Red and Inferno in your Oneshots." That's no reason to do a hit-and-run on my oneshots. There were like 2 reviews in the last two chapters. It can't be that bad. (Or there are too many people out there who love fluffy stories.) Anyway One day if the prompt allows it, I'll write sickly sweet oneshot. So sweet that your dentist will have a hard time when you visit him. Mwahahahaha.

Ok this Story is rather short, but not every Oneshot can contain 5 pages.

~o~o~o~

**5. Memory**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

Looking at the white moon gave Inferno a sense of peace like he'd rarely felt in these times of war. There was something his spark tried to tell him whenever he would see the white orb. Something important. Something out of a past long ago.

Words.

Words which weren't his own.

He knew the meaning of these words, but whenever he would try to remember, his processors would glitch and start to reboot his core programming. He was not a thinker, he was a warrior!

But the words still remained, like a never-ending echo through his systems. He'd tried to erase them, everything to silence it once and for all. Yet he failed. He just couldn't erase what was in his spark.

One could change programming, one could change sides. But no one could erase something which only the spark remembers. It was more than a source of energy or a mere life force. It was unique. No spark could be compared to another. To replace it meant to replace the whole bot.

These words promised something else, but he didn't really know what.

Someone, ...a memory in red and white said:

_'Wherever you go, ...my spark will find yours.'_

So that meant someone was waiting then? A spark searching for his own? A strange thought considering the situation and the war they were in.

And if they would find him? What then? Would he recognize them as well?... This whole thinking gave him a processor ache.

_'...my spark will find yours.'_

Stop that!

_'...will find yours.'_

STOP!

He had a duty to fulfil! Duty first! Always first! He was a warrior. He had to act like one. As tempting as these words were, they were words, nothing more ...and nothing less.

One day,... one day he might remember. Perhaps on the day he would deactivate. If the other couldn't find him by then, ...then he just had to find them instead.

Suddenly his comm. link opened.

_"Megatron to Inferno."_

Finally! He'd thought he'd never hear from him. He pushed his thoughts aside, because his loyalty for the royal highness was more important.

"Inferno here!"

_"Dinobot and that Rat have escaped, they can't be far away. Find and eliminate them!"_

"As the Queen commands, the traitor and the vermin shall BURN!"

_"...Oh and there was something else, yes."_

"Another command, my Queen?"

_"Yes. STOP CALLING ME THAT! Megatron out."_

~o~o~o~

E.N.D. end. ^^

Well I love Beast Wars and for everyone who hasn't seen it. You've missed something! Besides that, I do believe in reincarnation. So I guess, if I frag up a few more times, I have good changes at coming back. XD I like BW Inferno, he's such a glitch-head. XD

And yes, I do believe that both Infernos have something in common. They just love flames! XD Imagine Inferno from G1 as Con, then you have BW Inferno, or not?


	6. 6 Pictures

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:** Another One shot to placate the readers. The next chapter for 'Forget Me Not' is going slowly. I'm really sorry, tut mir leid, scusi, gomen nasai, lo siento mucho... But I try to put everything in this chapter and make it the last. However, I can't promise anything. I hope you enjoy the One Shot anyway.

~o~o~o~

**6. Pictures**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

Sitting in their shared quarter, on the berth, and staring at pictures was all Red Alert could do at the moment. Depression was eating at his processor and not even those captured moments could lift the dark gray veil which had descended upon him.

It had been a week since Inferno hadn't come back from a mission and Red was about to lose it. Most of the Ark believed he was gone, but he didn't. No, his fire truck was still alive, still out there. He just knew it!

Jazz had stopped by a few times to talk or to try and cheer him up. As expected, it was not working. Red knew the TIC just made sure he didn't do anything stupid. From experience they knew he was a danger mostly to himself if left alone for too long.

He picked up another picture. Those were more advanced than the photos of the humans, but it still brought no comfort. At first he didn't think much of taking pictures. Their species was advanced enough to store such things in their hard drive. But Inferno got him started on the 'hobby'. He had to admit, it wasn't as useless as he'd claimed it to be. And even the most inane of those photos held a precious memory.

There was one with Inferno and himself covered in dirt and mud. They'd been in the desert when a downpour came out of nowhere. Their tires got stuck in the mud, so they had to transform and walk back. But with their heavy frames, it was only a matter of time until their peds got stuck as well.

They were practically crawling back to the Ark. Laughing whenever one got stuck and had to give a helping servo. The whole situation was just so silly.

Sighing he went through the photo pile again. Some of the pictures where unknown to him. Most were of him. He guessed Inferno had taken them without him noticing it. Even so, they were beautiful. They showed how Red Alert could be if one actually cared enough to look. He could be calm, he could smile, he could be attractive, most of all, he could enjoy life!

Was that what Inferno had seen in him the whole time? ...Maybe.

There was one with Inferno smiling right at him. Oh yes, he could remember that day. Inferno had been happy for some unknown reason, but that smile had not only reached his optics it made them glow in a different shade of blue.

One fingertip traced over the smiling image of his lover. He missed him so much.

The door to their quarters opened and he didn't look up. It was about time Jazz came to harass him again. Really, Jazz was the most punctual mech right after Prowl, that means, if he wanted to. You could set chronometers according to the saboteur's behavior.

What he didn't expect were servos covering his optics. Now Jazz was going too far. He was too sad for these silly games.

"Jazz stop it. I'm not in the mood for petty games." He tried to sound harsh, but it sounded more annoyed than really angry.

For a moment there was utter silence before he heard a voice that definitely didn't belong to TIC.

"...I'm goin' tha kill that Porsche!"

Gasping he wrenched the servos away.

He'd heard right. It was his beloved fire truck. Inferno looked worse for the wear. Several cuts and a broken windshield adorned his frame. Not to mention that one of his wings, on the side of his helmet, was missing. Red Alert wanted to hug him, but feared for his mate's health. Instead, he brushed his fingertips carefully along Inferno's strong features. Perhaps his faceplates were the only part of him which wasn't dented or scratched in any way. To see his bodyguard damaged like this hurt Red's spark to the core.

The fire engine enjoyed the touch, almost nuzzling into those delicate servos. It had been a long time without his Lamborghini. Much too long.

"'Ferno, ...what happened? Where were you?" Red asked softly.

When Red tried to draw back his servos, Inferno captured and held them, not willing to let go so soon.

"Cons got meh. Seems like Mega-aft 'eard yah're mah mate and asked meh about tha security system."

Interrogated...

By Decepticon standards that meant being tortured for information. Not playing twenty-one questions. And all this because of him...

Just when Red Alert was about to apologize, his mate drew him in for a soft kiss. No, Inferno wouldn't have his lover blaming himself for something like that.

"Don' yah dare, Red. Takes more than ol' Megs tah take meh down. ...Now wha' was that 'bout Jazz?" Inferno really wanted to know what was going on.

Still a bit surprised, Red took a second before he understood what his lover meant.

"Nothing. While you were away, ...Jazz would try to cheer me up. Or just stop by to see how I was handling things. ...Why? Don't tell me you are jealous." Now really, Inferno had no reason to be. It's not like anyone else would look twice at him.

"'Course I am! Ain' trustin' a berth-hoppa with mah sweetspark!"

Red Alert's faceplates heated up slightly. What was his mate thinking? Jazz would never, ...or would he? No, it was better not to think about this. Ignorance is bliss! So he changed the topic before Inferno could go and hunt the saboteur down in his jealousy.

"How did you get out?"

"Yah can thank Mirage for that. He'd been snoopin' around tha Nemesis. Is why Prime couldn' send a rescue team. Would 'ave endangered his mission."

And he would thank Mirage, but much later. First he had to get his 'sweetspark' to the med bay. Trust Inferno to skip that and instead go to see his lover. Ratchet would throw another hissy fit for sure.

When Red was about to stand up, his mate tugged him back down.

"Aw Red, don' I deserve a 'warm welcome'?" Inferno tried to capture Red in his arms, but the Lamborghini would have none of it.

"Med bay first! Warm welcome later!"

"But Reeeeed..."

It seemed like Inferno was deprived of certain things, ...and actions. Red Alert showed no mercy, he stood up and walked over to the door waiting for his mate to follow. But when he turned around, Inferno was still on the berth and staring at his aft. Definitely deprived!

"Inferno, ...why don't you take a picture? It will last longer."

~o~o~o~


	7. 7 Water

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots* _ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:** I must admit, I wrote this a long time ago. I was sad that day and now I'm sad again, -_- so I'll post this today. I post this in honor of my so-called friends who have forgotten about me and haven't talked to me or called for a long time. Well either they forgot me or they ignore me. In that case, I prefer the first option...

~o~o~o~

**7. Water**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

He felt himself falling and floating at the same time. The water was cold and deep, ...very deep. The ocean , it's what the humans call it. In his own processor the data says it's a large amount of salty water covering around 70,8% of the planet.

Red Alert wished he could move, swim to the surface, but he couldn't. His body had been damaged and the sea water flowing into his circuitry made him immobile.

The last battle had been long and hard. But everything had been under control so far. Until Starscream swooped down and picked him up. The Seeker flew out of his comrades' sight, then dropped him into the sea. The few cracks in his armor, which he got in battle, created a wide opening for the water and soon his systems started to shut down. One after another.

The only things working at the moment were his spark, his processor and his optics.

The Lamborghini tried his comm. link, only to find it shut down as well to conserve energy. There was no way to pinpoint his position and the deeper he sunk, the darker it got.

Autobot frames were sturdy, so he didn't worry about the pressure to his frame. But he worried about something else. His tanks were full and his spark still online. Even if he would sink to the deepest point of the ocean, his systems would still be working. Cybertronians were not organic, so they didn't need air. Their engine would drown in the water, but it wasn't as necessary for them as their spark or energon.

As long as his Spark had the will and the energy to pulsate, he could survive. In earth time, for centuries to come. Just like Skyfire had.

But survival in these depths meant waiting for someone to save him. ...Which could take a long time, or at least until he deactivated.

Suddenly Red Alert reached the bottom of the ocean and lay on his back, staring up towards the unreachable surface. The ocean was dark, but not black. He couldn't be too deep down.

The organic creatures, ...fish he supposed, swam over his head. Continuing their journey wherever it led them while he himself could only watch.

A small glimmer above him, probably the sun, made them visible. This was the only way for him to differentiate between day and night since his chronometer was also not working.

'_What now?'_ He asked himself. He couldn't move, he couldn't talk nor could he use any of his programs to help himself.

The only thing he could do was to watch and wait. Which gave him much time to think of many things. Something he did not really look forward to.

It meant he was alone with his thoughts.

If nobody came to save him, he had years ahead of him. Years with all these unwanted thoughts.

As the glimmer above him traveled and changed colors, he thought of many things.

His first thought was hope.

They would find him. They were certainly trying to find him. He just had to wait and everything would be fine. He would go back, let Ratchet repair him and let Inferno pamper him a bit. Then he would continue with his work. Yes, that sounded good. It sounded safe. Just wait, they will come. ...They have to.

Which led him directly to his next train of thoughts inspired by doubt.

What if they couldn't find him? What if Starscream flew too far, so they didn't know where to look for him? What if nobody had seen the whole thing? What if they needed weeks? Months perhaps? And if they couldn't reach him, what then? ...And, ...maybe they were all gone?

This was ridiculous. Red knew he was about to short-circuit himself. The light above him started to dim. The day went by pretty fast, maybe too fast for his liking.

Now would be a good time to calm down. To try and reason with himself.

Of course they could reach him! If he wasn't affected by the pressure why should they be? They were a high advanced species, so they will find him. Technology made everything possible! And someone had certainly seen the abduction. Well, he'd screamed and cursed at the Seeker loud enough. So what if they needed weeks? It was not like he could move away.

Yes, that was better. At least a bit. But with the night came the dark thoughts. The ones he'd always drowned out because Inferno was by his side. But now, he wasn't and nobody was here to save him.

A white glimmer had replaced the golden one. Indicating that perhaps it was a night of a full moon. Good, at least he could still see enough of the organic creatures above him. He wasn't so sure he could handle being in total darkness with many unknown things surrounding him.

Now doubt came back and it had a companion.

Depression.

His self-assurance was blown away like a leaf in the wind.

What if they didn't want to find him? ...What if he was unwanted? After all, he was just a glitching mech, not even fully working. ...Inferno ...would he search for him? Would he try? Would he miss him? What if Optimus forbade them to look for him? Maybe he was already written off as deactivated? Certainly the Prime had more important matters at his servo than looking for a glitching security director.

This went on and on throughout the night. Soon the golden orb had replaced the white one and it was day again.

A whole day.  
>Twenty-four hours.<br>1440 Minutes.  
>86400 Seconds.<p>

And still nothing. Perhaps he should get used to the nothingness?

No! He couldn't do that!

Panic was his new comrade.

He didn't want to wait forever! There had to be something he could do. Anything! He still wanted to see the end of the war. He still wanted a future with Inferno. Why? Why him? Where was Optimus when you needed him? Couldn't Starscream pick on someone else?

He was here!

Still online!

Red Alert wished he could scream, shout, maybe even cry. He'd even be satisfied to send a message in Morse. Anything to get out of these cold depths!

But his body remained immobile. Sadly, due to his current stand-by state, he couldn't fall into recharge. He had enough energy, it could be awhile until his systems demanded it. Too bad, it would give him a much needed break from these exhausting data streams.

The creatures were still swimming above him. Some in circles, some trying to find their way and others were just floating around probably asleep. Well, he could still focus his attention on them, but fish were not really interesting to him.

Red observed his surroundings a bit, long enough for the glimmer to be right above him. It blinded his optics for awhile. He had to admit, one could grow bored of the ocean if they just stayed in it long enough.

The orb traveled farther and changed colors again. More than a day... This was frustrating.

It was time for some self-righteous anger.

Where were they? Shouldn't they be here by now? This took way too long. Is he worth that little? That they could just take their sweet time to save him? Oh, if their fearless leader was in danger everyone would jump to his aid, but Red Alert? Noooo, of course not! He was just their glitching security director. And Inferno? The fire truck obviously needed a break from him. Primus help them when he would get out of here!

The Lamborghini was seething and soon night fell again. Covering everything in soothing darkness. Not so soothing for him.

How much longer?

Night turned to day, day turned to night. A never-ending cycle. The only constant in his lonely eternity.

Now the golden orb had risen for the seventh time.

A week.  
>Seven days.<br>168 Hours.  
>10080 Minutes.<br>604800 Seconds.

And just these Primus damned fish for company. Ok, he'd seen the silhouette of a ship once or twice. However, it didn't matter. It was not like Red could draw attention to himself.

The worst thing was that something else demanded his attention.

His glitch.

Ratchet had done a fine job of suppressing it, but without constant supervision and update, it was bound to act up again.

Like the humans say: 'You can bury your own demons, but you cannot kill them.'

It began harmless enough. Just a few stray data streams here and there. Suggestions that they did something else. Or were too busy to help him. That the Decepticons kept them on their peds.

But soon, it started whispering to him. Trying to win him over in a voice that sounded too much like his own.

_*They are tired of you!*_

How would it know? It was just a glitch!

_*Wouldn't be surprising if some other mech got your job.*_

That couldn't be.

_*Don't you think it's strange that they take so long?*_

So what?

_*If they really wanted to, they would've come to help you.*_

The point?

_*That they were waiting for something like this. An opportunity to get rid of you!*_

Why should they? He was important! Their security director!

_*And obviously replaceable!*_

Even if it were right, which it certainly wasn't, he still had Inferno.

_*You sure? Haven't you caught him spacing out lately?*_

He does that often, nothing new.

_*And Firestar? You caught her ogling him not long ago.* _

Doesn't mean anything.

_*I bet they're glad you're gone. Now they can do whatever they want.*_

Liar!

_*Am I? I'm just stating the facts. Can't handle the truth?*_

Lies!

_*I'm here, Inferno isn't. He won't come. He never will. Because he's just like the rest of them!*_

No, ...he isn't...

_*Not so sure now, are you? They're all against you. They always were! How often did you catch them whispering behind your back?*_

...Often enough.

_*And the twins? How often did they try to prank you?*_

...He ...lost count.

_*And did Optimus ever listen to you?*_

...Not really.

_*See? That's what I'm trying to say. I'm your only friend – now, as before. I've always been there for you.*_

No, they say it's a glitch!

_*Of course they do! They don't want you to find out the truth! They're using you for their own entertainment ...and you walked right into their trap!*_

Then ...what was he supposed to do?

_*We'll find a way, don't worry. I'm here for you. I'll keep you company, now and forever.*_

Waiting again.

Days turned into nights and nights into days.

The tide went out, the tide came in and then, ...it waved goodbye again.

But now that he had company, eternity sounded only half as long.

~o~o~o~

...

...

Guess I'll have to be depressed more often since I'm actually proud of this Oneshot. ^^ I always thought Red's glitch was something like schizophrenia for us. I was listening to the soundtrack of Jigoku Shoujo (Hellgirl). The track which inspired me to write this is called "Ake Ni Somaru". Sad and wonderful at the same time. ^^


	8. 8 Party

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:** Ok, I need more time with the chapter for Forget Me Not. Things got hectic in the last two weeks. My car broke down (my poor wallet) and my grandma got sick with a fever. Dragging her to the doctor was hard enough. How can one be so hardheaded? Anyway, I guess I get some work done now. I was on a roll, wrote this and finished it at 5 am. x_X Hope it makes up for the last tear jerker. ^^ Enjoy.

~o~o~o~

**8. Party**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

If a human would ask what the difference between Autobots and Decepticons was, Red Alert would know the answer already.

Not their optics. Not their frames and certainly not their beliefs.

No, there was one significant thing that they had and the Cons would never get. More like two things.

They had Jazz and Blaster.

Translated it meant, they had earth-shaking parties, ...literally. With enough Highgrade and the right music, Autobot parties were more destructive than any Decepticon attack. Compared to that, the Con-parties were boring, almost prudish.

And for Red Alert, that meant working overtime. Sealing certain Labs, (Wheeljack's mostly) blocking all transmissions, com-signals and uploads on TV or the internet, (the humans would be traumatized) and having his optics on all monitors nonstop if possible.

Normally he wouldn't mind. After all, he was the only one who got the job done and yet it was highly unfair. He was the only one working. Even Prime attended the parties.

So ok, he was not really one for parties anyway and yes, perhaps he would even decline if asked. But that's where the problem began. ...Nobody asked. They never did.

The party now was another victory over the other faction, ...again. The Decepticons tried to surprise them by using an old human trick. Digging a tunnel to freedom, but in this case into the Autobot base. Their Tunnel Boring Machine was almost soundless and while everyone was in their recharge, nobody had noticed the faint vibrations in the ground.

Nobody except Red Alert. His sensory network had registered the vibrations and he pinpointed the source of it right below them. He sounded the Alarm and notified Optimus, who gathered the Autobots at the spot where the Cons would break through. And they did welcome them with open arms, ...and gunfire.

A few managed to enter the base, but they didn't come very far. Not when Red had a say in this.

But did the Autobots mention that? Of course they didn't. Now they were having a party and didn't even invite him. He should have gotten used to this by now. Yet it still hurt sometimes.

Oh well, someone had to look out for them. Who would if Red wouldn't?

He would already be glad if they kept the rec room in one piece this time. Last time, it looked worse than a battlefield and he certainly didn't want to know who had left their codepiece on the floor and streaked through the base! (Sadly, he knew!) Thank you very much! He didn't need a repeat of that!

Suddenly the door opened with a hiss and he knew only one mech aside from the Prime who could enter the monitor room.

"Hi Inferno." It was nice of him to drop by, even though Red was sure the party would have been more fun.

The fire truck strolled into the room with two cubes full to the brim with energon.

"'Ey Red, dontcha think is time fora break?"

What was that? Did Red detect a slur in his voice? Inferno had been drinking highgrade? So ok, that was nothing new, but it was never to the point where his bodyguard was more than just a bit tipsy.

"Inferno, are you alright?" He asked carefully. Who knew, maybe Inferno didn't even know his own state. The twins could've done something. ...Or maybe this was a Decepticon plot?

"Hmmm, neva been betta." If Inferno's grin was any indication, then he was just the happiest bot in the base right now.

He set the two cubes aside and sat in the free chair next to Red Alert. For him the whole world was perfect. He felt warm and fuzzy and his Red was here, what else could he want? His Red. He really liked the sound of that. Oh he knew he was a bit drunk, thanks to the twins and their stupid drinking games. But maybe he had to thank them later if all went well.

"Say Red, ..." He put his arm around the Lamborghini.

"...didcha activate tha door when tha Cons where behin' meh?"

There was a point when the Cons had gotten into the base. Red Alert had controlled the doors and sealed the hallways. Inferno hadn't been paying attention and two Decepticons had crept up behind him. When they were about to fire, the door had closed immediately.

Red Alert's faceplates heated up and his spark whirled in it's chamber. Inferno was drunk, did he even know what he was doing to him? He had a crush on the fire engine for Primus knows how long. This was so unfair. Inferno played with his feelings and was too drunk to notice a thing.

"O- ...Of c-course." Red stuttered, Inferno was too close. He just couldn't think.

Oh, this was delicious. A stuttering, blushing and dare he say adorable security director right here in his arms. Forget the party, this was much better. He only needed it as an excuse to drink enough highgrade and get his act together. He'd been pining for the smaller mech for awhile. But until now, he wasn't brave enough to risk everything and maybe turn their current relationship into something more.

"Guess I'll havta thank yah for that." It was now or never. Inferno knew if he didn't do anything now, he would never try again.

The fire truck closed the small gap between them. It was a soft and gentle kiss and he prayed to Primus that his spark would be heard. Make or break him. This was now Red's choice.

Red's world went upside down. Inferno was kissing him. Him! This was too good to be true. At first he was frozen in shock, but when he felt Inferno was about to pull away, he answered. His lip components moved shy and questioning against the other's. It wasn't like Red had many relationships throughout his existence. Not many were fond of glitching and short mechs.

By the matrix, ...this was sweeter than anything Inferno ever had. Red Alert just made him the most happiest mech on earth. No, in the entire universe! He couldn't get enough. Highgrade was nothing compared to that. The feeling was thrilling and it ran through his circuits like wildfire. He certainly could get used to that.

Red was the first to pull away to Inferno's dismay.

"Inferno..." It was a mix between a moan and a sigh.

This was intoxicating the red mech.

'_Again! Say mah desigantion like that again!'_

Before Red could protest Inferno had claimed him again. Hungry, needy, desperate for more.

"Inferno, ...the ...party." Red managed to say between those hungry kisses.

"Forget tha party!" He purred. Yes, purred! Only Red could reduce him to that.

The Lamborghini put one fingertip over Inferno's lip components.

"I'm on duty now." He reminded him.

It was not enough to sober him up, just enough to get him thinking. Right, Red was the only one on duty when the others were celebrating. Unfair, yes. But it was damage control and someone had to do it. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now.

"Fine, ...but promise somethin' Red!" He grumbled.

What? Was that about keeping this secret? He looked warily into Inferno's optics.

"We'll 'ave a party later. "

Was Inferno still drunk? Even after that processor blowing kiss?

"And who will be attending that party?" Ok now he was mocking the fire truck. But he just couldn't help himself. He was all giddy inside and Inferno didn't help matters with that huge grin on his faceplates.

"Hmmmm..." Inferno nuzzled Red's main energon line on his neck, which earned him a sweet gasp.

"...Jus' tha two of us. Is... private."

~o~o~o~

Is it just me, or is it really hot in here? XD Hope you liked it. ^^ And for chapter 7, well I consider doing a sequel once the right prompt comes up. It's really random I swear. *crosses fingers* XD


	9. 9 Christmas

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:** It's finally Christmas! My favorite time of the whole year! *_* And I decided this will be my gift for the readers. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and ( if I don't update until then) a Happy New Year!

~o~o~o~

**9. Christmas**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

Inferno walked through the hallways, helping to decorate the Autobot base for the upcoming human holiday called 'Christmas.' A year ago, Optimus thought it was a good idea to integrate them into the customs of their hosts. Besides that, a holiday which was celebrated with so much peace and love in the air sure tickled the Prime's fancy.

A year, twelve months, 365 days had gone by in a flash. Their kind had a different sense for time since their life was really long. So one year was not much by cybertronian standards. But things had happened and things have changed.

For Inferno, things had changed as well. When he thought about it now, it had changed for the better.

Last year, he had gathered up his courage and confessed to his love.

_Last Christmas, I gave you my heart..._

He confessed to Firestar. Said that he really liked her.

At first everything went well. She had patted his faceplate, said how cute he was and given him some attention.

_But the very next day, you gave it away..._

However, that didn't last long. While he socialized with others, the femme had flirted with some of the other mechs. By the end of the evening, he found her in some other mech's arms. Tracks? Smokescreen? Or was it Sideswipe? He couldn't remember it anymore. He'd drowned his sorrow in High grade.

He'd been upset for the few days left of the year and avoided the femme like he would avoid scraplets. Apparently, that hadn't even been necessary. She had a good time with her new lover. At least that was what Red had told him. He had to force this out of his best friend since he was reluctant to tell him anything.

After that, he'd fallen into a depression. There were times when his mood would lighten up, but he had been down for most of the time. He had wasted precious time mourning over the femme's absence.

Now he knew what a fool he had been back then. There were still moments when he felt like smacking his helmet against the very next wall. He'd been too blind and stupid to notice the most important thing. Someone who was right in front of his optics.

Red Alert had always been there!

He had listened to his complains. Had always stayed with him when he felt down. Tried to cheer him up as best as he could.

And yet, Inferno couldn't help but mourn the fact that she hadn't chosen him. It took a near death experience to shake him out of his spark-broken induced stupor. Inferno couldn't really remember what exactly had happened.

But when he onlined in the med bay, it was Red Alert who was by his side, recharging in a chair next to his berth. Not Firestar. She had no excuse not to be here, ...other than she didn't care. The base wasn't that large, so news traveled through the soldiers ranks like wildfire.

Ratchet had told him that Red even went so far to switch shifts to be by his side. Just to make sure he would be fine. He knew Red never left the monitor room without a good reason. Not to mention switching or skipping shifts. It got him thinking. That and the medic who threatened him to never scare Red Alert like that again.

It took some time and observation, but the signs were there.

At the party on Christmas Eve, Inferno's spark almost took a dip into his fuel tanks. Firestar was there as well.

Alone.

He had to remind himself that it was Christmas. Forgive and forget, Prime would say.

"Hi Inferno." She winked at him.

What? Was she trying to flirt with him? Didn't she dump him last year?

"Would you like to join me for a cube of high grade?"

Oh, so this was the game. Her admirer had dumped her and now he was second choice.

No! Definitely no!

This year would be different. He would make sure of that.

_This year, to save me from tears..._

Inferno glanced around the rec room and spotted exactly the bot he was looking for. Red Alert was talking to Prowl, one of the very few mechs he trusted.

He turned back towards the femme.

"Nope Firestar, ya'll hav' tha look fer sumone else." He drawled in his southern accent.

Firestar's beautiful faceplates fell in shock. Never had the fire truck refused her a wish, so why now? Wasn't he glad he would get the opportunity to be with her?

"What? ...But...?" She stuttered.

Inferno didn't lose anymore time. He had lost enough at the beginning of this year. Without another word, he walked away. Not even apologizing for declining her invitation or excusing himself. She didn't deserve his politeness. He strode through the rec room and snatched a mistletoe from the ceiling when he passed by it.

He could feel the femme's gaze on him, following him the whole time. Good, that meant he had her full attention and she would get the point.

When he reached his destination, Prowl gave him a curious look before excusing himself. He had already figured out what the fire engine had in mind. A brilliant tactician, indeed. Red Alert on the other hand hadn't noticed his best friend behind him, so he was quite puzzled when the SIC left all of a sudden.

Inferno was quite nervous, but also so very sure that everything would be just fine.

"Hiya Red." He started.

Red Alert had been startled at first, but noticing it was Inferno's voice calmed him down instantly. However, before he could turn around, Inferno had raised his arm and held the mistletoe right above the Lamborghini.

Those beautiful, cerulean optics looked up at the mistletoe and then right at him. Inferno smiled widely when Red's optics lightened in realization.

"Ya're under tha mistletoe." Red knew exactly what this human custom meant. He had avoided those green, organic things last year, fearing he could be caught under it with the wrong mech.

The fire truck snaked his free arm around the other's waist and pulled him closer. Oh sweet Primus, was there a red hue on the smaller mech's faceplates? How adorable... Before the smaller mech could think of a reply, Inferno had already swooped down and claimed those inviting lip components. Why should he be content with a chaste kiss on Red's faceplate?

And Inferno was rewarded for his bold move, ...twice. Behind him, he could hear Firestar's horrified squeak and in front, he could feel his crush kissing him back. He threw the plant aside and cupped the back of Red's helmet to deepen the kiss. Too long had Inferno been denied, but now he had found what he'd been looking for. The perfect gift. Someone just for him.

_...I'll give it to someone special._

~o~o~o~

XD

Cookies for those who can guess the song. *blushes* I torture my family every year by having this song on repeat while decorating the tree. XD


	10. 10 Stars

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:** Surprise, Surprise! Ok, so this is my last Oneshot for the year. XD I hate odd numbers, so I wanted to end the year with an even number in my Oneshots. It still bugs my that my other fanfic. is at chapter 7. Grrrrr. Oh well, not much I can do here. So this was a spontaneous idea, hope you like it. And since I won't be around to post anything on New Year's Eve, I'll have to post it now. Enjoy.

~o~o~o~

**10. Stars**  
>by Misty Mina<p>

Looking at earth's night sky gave Red Alert a sense of peace like he would rarely experience throughout the day. No work, no stress, no paranoia. Everything was forgotten as soon as he would look at the stars. It made him remember. All those planets he'd been, seen or heard of. All those places he'd wished to visit. But that was in a time before the population of Cybertron called for war.

Would he ever return? Would he never travel the galaxy again? Would he never see his home again? Would there be a home to return to?

Inferno had reassured him that there was always a home to return to, but Red Alert didn't really get what exactly his mate meant. What if Cybertron was no more when the war would end? There wouldn't be a place to return to. Not every planet was suited for their species, no matter how advanced they were.

So one day, when Inferno joined him one night while he was out stargazing, he couldn't help but ask.

"Inferno?"

"Hmm?"

The fire engine turned his attention away from the shimmering lights above them.

"...Do you think, ...one day, when the war ends, ..." He didn't exactly know how to ask. How should he know what the future held for them?

Inferno waited patiently for his mate to continue. Judging from Red's hesitation, it had to be important.

"...Do you think, we could go home?" There, Red had said it. He looked at Inferno, trying to read his faceplates.

The fire engine looked confused for a moment. But then he smiled and looked back up at the stars.

"...Dunno what yah mean, Red. I'm home."

Now it was the Lamborghini's turn to be puzzled. Inferno wanted to stay? On earth? Just like Hound? He hadn't even noticed that his mate enjoyed this planet so much. What a great lover he was. Not even noticing the simplest things...

"...So, earth is your new home?" He couldn't really hide the sadness in his voice. How could he abandon the planet he'd been created on so easily?

If possible, Inferno's grin grew even wider.

"Nope."

What? Didn't he just say...?

Seeing Red's stumped expression made the situation even funnier, at least for Inferno. Chuckling lightly, he placed a servo flat on Red's chestplates, directly over his spark chamber. The intimate gesture made the security director blush in return.

"This is mah home, Red!"

If anything, Red's faceplates were on fire now. Inferno drew his speechless mate into his arms.

"Home is ...where tha spark is."

Red didn't need further explanations. Inferno's spark was with him. Home was wherever he would go. He embraced his lover and looked up into those dark blue optics. Yes, he was right. It was almost too simple and yet it was so true. No place was home without Inferno. Not even Cybertron.

A place, a planet or a galaxy without his love, ...was not worth living in. The stars might not have lost their beauty, but they've lost their wistful appeal. Home was not up there. It was down here and would always be.

~o~o~o~

To all my Readers: I wish you all a Happy New Year. I'll see you all in 2012. XD

If anyone wants to know, the Oneshot was inspired by the song 'One last wish' AKA 'Casper's lullaby' from the soundtrack of the movie 'Casper'.


	11. 11 Dream

**Disclaimer:** "Oh c'mon after so many stories, I've earned the right to call it mine!" _*Megatron points fusion cannon at Mina*_ "DO AS I COMMAND!" "kyaaaa. Ok, T_T It's not mine, it's nooot!"

**Author's note:** I wrote this for a friend of mine on Deviantart a few months ago. *coughs*Aku-kun*coughs* And now, after being busy for so long, ...and still not seeing the end of it, I decided to post this as a filler. Because the next few weeks will be busy as well. I'm not looking forward to it. Anyway, enjoy. ^^

~o~o~o~

**11. Dream  
><strong>by Misty Mina

It had been a while since Red had last spoken to Inferno. Even longer since they had shared their passion and their sparks. So yes, their schedules were different and usually it meant Inferno had to haul his aft out of the monitor room. But he hadn't done this in a while either. If the Lamborghini was honest, he wasn't any better.

They'd been avoiding each other.

The cause for this lay in their bond. In Red Alert's opinion, it was not functioning the way it should be. Either that, or Inferno was lying about sharing practically everything with him. Red only got snippets of emotions, tiny bits of Inferno's side of the bond, even though it was wide open. He had his own suspicions. The bond was fine, but the fire truck tried to hide something from him! When he first noticed that Inferno wasn't sharing everything with him, his glitch had a real field day.

It took a while to calm himself and his glitch down, yet it wasn't enough to calm his paranoia. He started to look more closely at his mate's activities. However, he couldn't detect anything abnormal. Inferno did his duties, chatted with his friends and always came back to him. And yet, ...the fire engine took less and less from his time. As if Red was angry at him or had hurt him in any way. His paranoia and fear just grew and one day, he saw Inferno entering Smokescreen's quarters.

Inferno had no mental problems as far as he could tell. Red should be the one to see the gambler and perhaps find a way to keep his paranoia in check. Not that he had ever taken Ratchet's advice to see him, though. So why should he? If Inferno needed someone to talk to, shouldn't he be the right mech for the job? Being his bondmate and all? ...Except, ...if it was something he couldn't tell him. But what?

What was so bad that he couldn't tell Red about it?

This question had been haunting his processor for awhile. He should just ask, yet he doubted Inferno would tell him the truth. If his own mate didn't trust him, then how could Red trust in return? His worries started to consume him. His attention wasn't so much on the monitors any more, his temper was at times as foul as Ratchet's if not worse and his spark started to hurt. At first it wasn't really painful just irritating, but the longer he waited, the more it hurt.

The last thing he wanted was to go and see Ratchet. The CMO would surely dismantle him and just forget about putting him back together. Medics were like that. They could offline you, take your components and use them for spare parts without anyone noticing it. Eventually the pain became a constant throbbing in his spark. Blocking the fire truck from the bond eased the pain a bit, but it was still there.

Red dealt with the pain. He would be fine, he'd always been. The pain would certainly go away as soon as he could figure out what was going on with Inferno. Meanwhile the fire truck had stopped seeing him and went to either Smokescreen, Ratchet or Jazz on a daily basis. Did he really think Red wouldn't see this?

This was madness!

What was Inferno doing? Berth hopping?

The thought was ridiculous and yet it stung. ...It would explain a few things. The hiding, why he avoided him and the instability of their bond and also, ...the foreign feelings and thoughts he'd been picking up lately.

Of course, ...

How could he have been so foolish? As if anyone would look at a short, glitching mech. Inferno could get anyone. From beautiful femmes to the most skilled mechs. So why settle for junk? What hurt most was not even the thought of betrayal. It was that Inferno might have started their relationship out of pity. He wasn't really needed, just tolerated.

His spark started to act up again and it was worse than before. It felt like a part of himself tried to escape. Like his life source was about to fall apart. Error messages started to pop up in his vision, telling him that his systems would shut down.

Stasis lock.

Just great, he didn't need that. Didn't want anyone to see him in this pitiful state. Didn't need their fake concern! With his last strength Red Alert managed to lock the doors and delete all access codes. There was no way to enter the monitor room now, except if he would authorize a new access code or if they broke the door down, whatever came first. They wouldn't get him! Not as long as he was still online!

The glitch was acting up again. It screamed, thrashed and violated his programming. Red Alert collapsed and fell to the floor. He wasn't sure what hurt more. His spark chamber felt like it would burst any second and his processor wasn't any better.

So it was bliss when he finally fell into that cold and calming state. Finally at ease. A moment when he didn't have to deal with his concerns or the pain.

A moment for himself.

Just him and the darkness that lured him in.

~o~o~o~

When he woke up, he wasn't greeted by the familiar light of the med bay. Or the orange med bay ceiling. This place was dark like the deepest night. It stretched out like eternity itself. No borders, no obstacles just this wide open nothingness. But the most noticeable thing was the lack of noise. The Ark was everything but silent. This was unsettling.

Quietly.

Peacefully

Like a grave.

Red Alert felt like slapping himself but lacked his own frame to do so. He was just himself. No frame, no glitch, no paranoia. It was the clearest moment of his life and he came to the realization that it might also be his last. Free of the ever present paranoia, he now knew that he should have seen a medic. A problem with ones spark was always a serious matter and should be treated by someone immediately. But no, he just had to listen to his glitch, didn't he?

Since his mate wasn't here as well, it meant he had at least spared Inferno from deactivation. Blocking the fire truck from the bond had saved him the backlash of a broken one. The backlash was what caused one mate to follow the other into death. Once his side of the bond would be cleared, Inferno wouldn't feel another presence anymore. Just the feeling that something was missing.

A whisper of nothing.

The feeling of an extinguished candle.

Primus wouldn't really be happy about this. Offlined for good, because he refused to get himself checked. A stupid reason, really. He shouldn't move or go any further, yet he did it anyway and delved deeper into the darkness or so he thought. Navigation was impossible in an empty space. It didn't matter, it wouldn't do him any good to return now would it? The problem would still be there. Inferno would still avoid him and he doubted his systems would function like before. Besides that, the Ark could do fine without a glitching reject like himself. There were others who could do his job. It was essential in war that a soldier could be replaced any time, any day.

Suddenly there was light shining from above.

Surely the matrix. He'd reached it.

And something else. Another spark. A presence like him.

This presence was small and weak, probably offlined at a very young age like most on Cybertron. It came closer when it noticed him. It was analyzing him as if not sure what to do. He sent a touch of reassurance out and got an answer right away. Relief, confusion and ...words.

"_Who ...are ...you?"_ It asked, unsure of it's own ability to communicate.

From the feeling and sound of the voice it was a little femme.

"_Red Alert, ...you?" _

"_..."_ She sent a wave of confusion at his question.

"_Your designation."_ He clarified.

"_...I ...dunno."_

The poor thing. A lost spark. A spark which had been extinguished before it could go online.

A nobody.

This was an awkward situation. Here he was with a lost spark and didn't know what to do. Pathetic. Really pathetic. Perhaps it would be better to change the topic.

"_Why don't you join the matrix?"_ It was right above them couldn't she see it? Couldn't she feel it?! Or maybe she knew more of this place than he did which was why she stayed?

"_...Matrix?..."_ The confusion only grew. It seemed like she knew nothing at all.

This was getting him nowhere. Perhaps Red Alert shouldn't just assume things. A lost spark wouldn't know anything of their culture or their beliefs. He had asked the wrong questions!

"_Then, ...what are you doing here?" _

"_Waiting..."_ It was the first real answer Red had heard from her, even if it was cryptic.

Waiting for what? Had Primus told her to wait? Was this place some kind of waiting room? He knew that humans had something like that and called it 'purgatory', but their kind didn't have that, did they? Now the other presence sent a curious nudge.

"_Why ...are you here?"_ She asked, now more confident in her abilities.

Red Alert saw no harm in telling her the truth. It was a bit late for a paranoia fit anyway. There was nothing he should or could protect anymore. No base, no crew members, no mate and no frame.

"_I ...was stupid. I needed help and ...refused to take it. I'm sure they'll be fine, even if I'm not there anymore."_ The truth was painful to accept.

Yes, he'd been stupid and yes, he should have seen Ratchet when he had the chance. ...And yes, they'd be fine without him. Now things would calm down on the Ark. No false alarm, no accusations of betrayal, no constant supervision and nobody who kept the medics busy with a glitch.

The little presence scrutinized him. He could feel her skepticism and Red knew right away that she was emotionally smarter than he was.

"_No. ...You left. ...So now, ...it's empty. They'll notice...and they ...are sad."_ It was clumsy, but he understood what she meant. She tried hard to get her point across with the few words she knew. What she meant was that no matter what, the others would still mourn his absence. If she'd been older or anyone else, he might have been angry with her. But she was so young and innocent. She wouldn't understand what he'd been going through.

"_I doubt it. I caused them too much trouble, you know?"_ Explaining to her everything about a glitch, which whispered to him and caused paranoia, seemed like a futile thing to do. So he kept the conversation as simple as he could.

However, she was not convinced and let him feel it.

"_Everyone ...has use. ...Has function. Nobody is ...useless. Remember!"_ It wasn't a plea. With her whole presence, she ordered him to remember what he'd done for others. Everything! No matter how insignificant it had been.

And suddenly the nothingness began to shift into his memories as soon as he remembered every little detail. His first security system. The lives he'd saved thanks to his work. The one time when the Ark's security system fought off the Decepticons while many of their own soldiers recovered. Meeting Inferno and their times together. How he'd destroyed the Negavator even at the risk of his own life and much more.

Red Alert guessed this was what the humans meant when they talked about how their life flashed before their eyes. Once it was over, everything went dark again. The little spark radiated feelings of astonishment, wonder and pride. She was proud of his work, his deeds, him! The nameless spark gave him a warm nudge.

"_Be ...proud too!"_ It was childlike brilliance. If she, a nobody, could be proud of him, he should learn how to give himself some credit.

The light above them began to glow. It was calling someone, but not Red Alert. He didn't feel drawn to it, not yet. But the lost spark started to rise towards it. It was her time, not his.

"_Wait!"_ He thought he should give her something. She hesitated, eager to listen to him.

"_When I came here, ...I thought I was nobody. Now I know, I am somebody. I'm Red Alert! ...You ...you're small, but you shine in the darkness. A bit of hope. ...A bit of joy. ...A bit of light." _

The lost spark listened. It sent confused feelings, not really understanding much of Red Alert's speech. But she knew it was important, so she stayed.

"_I think, ...your designation should be, ...'Glimmer'."_ Red had thought it through and even if she would never use it or got a new designation in her next life. For that one single moment, she wasn't a nobody. She was 'Glimmer'!

She, no 'Glimmer', shone brighter than before. Her happiness and gratitude radiated off of her and made her literally glow. Now she was a somebody as well. Somebody who was cherished and loved enough to deserve a name.

The far away light above them was relentless and pulled her up and out of his reach. But before she was gone, Red heard her last words.

"_Follow soon, ...please."_ Then she was gone.

Now he was alone and scared. How long had she waited? How long would he wait? He'd never liked waiting and now he was forced to do it.

Time had no meaning here. Breems or stellar cycles, it didn't matter. He waited. Waited for that pull, his invitation to join the matrix. Sometimes Red thought he could still hear and feel Glimmer. Hear her voice even though she didn't say a clear word. Feel her small, warm presence in this empty place. Perhaps, ...he should go anyway. Even without being pulled in, he could still move around freely. And what if he joined the matrix sooner? It was not like he could avoid that. It was everyone's final destiny.

He'd been indecisive until he heard Glimmer again, loud and clear. And this time, ...she was crying. What? Why was she so sad? Shouldn't she be at peace?

Decision made he went towards the far away light. Only to finally feel the long awaited pull. Now he practically raced towards the light.

~o~o~o~

Red Alert opened his eyes, but what he saw was not what he'd expected. He'd expected to see other sparks, to see his Creators, Glimmer or Primus. He'd also half expected to see Unicron himself. It was not like he was a saint. Red had done his fair share of sins. Killing someone, even though it was the enemy, was still a sin.

But what he saw was even worse.

Red Alert was greeted by a grouchy CMO with pink bunny ears attached to his helmet.

'_Oh Primus, ...the pit really exists!'_ He thought.

"You had us really worried. Why didn't you say anything, you Sl..." Ratchet clearly wanted to say 'Slagger', but didn't. Red noted that the medic had spoken in a calm way instead of yelling at him like he usually did with stupid patients. Not even Prime was safe from that. Had he really worried them so much? So this meant it was all a dream? It seemed so real...

Ratchet noted that the Lamborghini was still staring at his pink accessories.

"Sideswipe and superglue." He explained with a sneer while still trying to yank off the items in question. However his attempts were in vain. He had to wait until Perceptor could come up with a solvent.

"Speaking of trouble-makers, that reminds me..." Ratchet pointed to the other side of Red's berth.

Red turned his helmet to the side and saw his mate recharging besides him in a chair.

"...your good-for-nothing-mate wouldn't leave your side. Not even when I threatened him to put soap into his water tanks."

It still puzzled him why Ratchet didn't curse outright. Normally, words like 'useless Slagger' and 'moronic Fragtard' would've left Ratchet's vocalizer already and these were some of the nicer words in his vocabulary.

Inferno stirred from his recharge and almost fell out of his seat when he noticed that his love was back among the living. He stood up and came closer, careful not to make too much noise. Sweet really, but Red wasn't that hurt. There was no need to pamper him, was there?

At first Inferno didn't say anything as if he was rendered speechless by the mere sight of him. But then he pulled himself together.

"Red, ...I'm sorry, ...I should've realized your state sooner. I thought our bond wasn't working because you ...regretted bonding with me." He spoke softly, almost whispered those words to him.

Red Alert noted the lack of Inferno's usual southern drawl. A sign that the fire truck was deeply distraught. So that was the reason why Inferno went to Smokescreen and the others. He sought out help since Red wouldn't talk to him and had blocked him from the bond. Even though, it was more of a measure to relieve the pain. Now everything made sense.

"Inferno, I would never ever regret that! I'm so sorry. I should've talked to you first before jumping to conclusions. ...What was it anyway? My glitch? Broken data streams? Or maybe a virus?" Red really wanted to know.

Both Ratchet and Inferno gave him shocked looks. What? How was he supposed to know what was wrong with him? It was not like his Creators had dragged him to every medic on Cybertron.

"...Yah dunno?" Ah that was much better. Inferno without his accent just wasn't Inferno.

Red sent him a scowl that said, 'If I knew, I wouldn't ask'. Ratchet held his servo in front of his lip components either to stifle a laugh or to keep from shouting out profanities. What now? Had he deleted his basic firewalls by accident? That would have been more than stupid.

Inferno smiled before reaching to Red's side and lifted something up. There was something which he hadn't seen or noticed before.

"Yep Red it's a virus an' it wants tha meet yah."

Red couldn't believe his optics. He'd thought that perhaps something of this planet's mammalian fauna had crept under his armor and caused havoc. But what his mate held in his servos was clearly not from this planet.

It was mostly white with a few stripes of red and a set of dark blue optics blinked tiredly at him. However it sprang to live once it noticed that Red was online.

His mate, held a small sparkling protoform in front of him and if Red was right, it was a femme. She took after him. The same color scheme more white than red, the same helmet, but with small wings instead of the horns, pointing to the rear, the same darker red color and dark blue optics like Inferno.

She chirped and reached out to him, trying to struggle out of the fire truck's grip. This had to be a joke, right? He'd been carrying and hadn't noticed? Their bond hadn't been working right, because there was a third spark in between? So that was the reason why Ratchet didn't curse, yell or threw a hissy fit. The medic watched his language around sparklings.

Dumbfounded he took the small sparkling from Inferno's servos. She snuggled against his armor and clicked happily. Suddenly, his bond with his creation flared to live. He knew this presence. Knew the warmth and the light.

"...Glimmer?"

As if to confirm it, a warble left her vocalizer. This surprised Inferno.

"Yah already 'ave a designation fer 'er?"

How was Red supposed to answer him? He couldn't really understand it himself. Thankfully Ratchet took this matter into his own servos.

"I'm not surprised. Normally, while the sparkling develops, the Creators would communicate with their future offspring through their bond. This is how we earn our designations. It's a bit different in your case, Red. Since you blocked Inferno, your sparkling, ...Glimmer was it? Well, she sees you as her only attachment figure. I'm glad you formed a bond with her before she came online. Otherwise she wouldn't be attached to anyone."

Inferno looked longingly at his mate and their sparkling. He wanted to be part of that happy family as well.

"Wha' about meh?" He asked with a sad tone.

"She will get used to you in no time. Sparklings get attached to anyone who shows them that they are loved and cared for."

Even though the circumstances were anything but perfect, it was still a good omen. There hadn't been a sparkling for stellar cycles, because everybody feared war and it's consequences. But new life meant a new generation. A new hope for the future.

A glimmer of hope.

Which lay now in Red's arms, recharging peacefully without a care in the world.

~o~o~o~

End. ^^

Well, you could see it as a gift for Red Alert. (Mother's Day _*winks*_ ) Hope you liked it. I haven't abandoned the stories, but I've been really busy lately. I try to get as much done as possible now before my Grandma's next and hopefully last operation.


	12. 12 Training

**Disclaimer:** Is that really necessary? _*All Autobots nod* _..._*sighs* _Fine, fine. Transformers belongs to Hasbro and will never be mine. T_T

**Author's note:** You could say this oneshot is an apology for my long absence. I haven't forgotten. But I must say, I wasn't really inspired enough to write anything for Transformers. I'm sorry, but I can only write things when I'm inspired enough.

~o~o~o~

**12. Training  
><strong>by Misty Mina

Up. Dodge. Slide to side. Transform. Accelerate.

These movements were nothing new to every Autobot.

Transform. Jump. Roll over. Take cover.

But it was always new to watch these simple movements when it was Red Alert who performed them.

Concentrate. Focus on target. Fire!

As a security unit, it wasn't Red's duty to perform in battle nor to engage the enemy in any way. That was a bodyguard's duty. Inferno's duty!

Zoom in on enemy. Confirming deactivation. Transform.

However, Ratchet had ordered all bots to take these training sessions while he observed them. In the medic's opinion, it helped him to discover malfunctions even before the patient did. Also they were useful to calibrate a mech's inner systems after a long repair. Carly called it fine-tuning.

Accelerate. Max speed. Leave cover.

It was a rare treat for Inferno to see the Lamborghini like that. Many believed Red wouldn't do well in these tests. But they didn't know what he'd witnessed the whole time long. And it was all his to enjoy and appreciate.

Round one. Round two. Round three.

The gleaming alt-mode. The sleek curves in the right places. The powerful sound of a strong engine.

Slam into brakes. Drift.

The blinding speed and of course, the smooth transformation. Not a single detail had slipped his optics and audio systems. A speed-machine, indeed. The fire engine bet, if his charge really wanted to, he could give the twins a run for their creds.

Stop. Transform.

Over, just like that. A pity really. Inferno could have watched the whole day, night, eternity long. Red Alert was too modest for his own good. He should train with others. Prove them wrong, just to show them what should belong to Inferno alone. Even if they would watch, what did they know anyway? They were blind and would never see what he saw in the smaller mech.

Secure weapon. Checking stats. Done.

The medic in the simulation room went through the last results of Red's last training session.

"Well done, Red. Your results are still the same. I thought your frame would be subject to high wear, being a Lamborghini and all. Just like the slagging twins. But thankfully, you seem to have more processor capacity than those two virus-infected bitlets. At least you know how to take care of yourself."

Sideglance. Blush.

Oh? Was that directed at him? Hopefully. Or maybe he was just embarrassed? Now Ratchet was looking as well. ...No, ...a smirking CMO was not really reassuring. Inferno didn't like that look on his faceplates. It meant Ratchet knew something others didn't and would probably take advantage of it.

"I see. Then should I congratulate Inferno instead?"

Shock. Blush Nr. 2. Shake helmet.

Interesting. Ratchet must have said something to Red. How the red mech wished to know what it was. Maybe Red would blush for him like that, just once would be enough.

"Then I suggest you go for it. Soon! Or else..."

Shock. Fear. Hesitant nod.

Ok, this was weird now. Ratchet must've threatened Red. Most likely about taking it easy or feel his wrench if he didn't. The usual. There were forces in this universe which not even Inferno dared to challenge. And the moody medic was one of them.

The training was over. Red Alert came back to Inferno who had watched the training and his charge from the entrance of the simulation room.

"Everythin' ok?"

"Yes, couldn't be better."

They left the room together. The fire engine steered them towards the rec room. After such an exhausting training session, he had to make sure that Red fuelled up properly. Or his crush would take the next shift with empty tanks. He couldn't have that!

"Say Red, Wha' where ya two talkin' 'bout? Ya looked 'bit stressed an' all."

"Not much. Just that my results were better than the twin's."

Ah, praise. So that was the reason for the blush.

"Really? Is tha be 'xpected. Is not like ya can't take care of yerself."

A smile all for him.

"I guess, I just know what's good for me. That's all."

~o~o~o~

I know it's short, but what can you write with a prompt like 'Training' anyway? Hope you liked it. ^^


	13. 13 Pink

**Disclaimer:** It should be mine after all the time and work I put into, ...but it isn't T_T

**Author's note:** _**"NR. 13! Shiver and despair!"**_ _*coughs*_ Uhm, yeah, ...that's enough Megatron. Thanks for your help. -.-u Anyway, I think this one is perfect for nr. 13. Pink is really a dreadful color. O.o Did you know that if you were trapped for in a bright Barbie pink colored room, with same colored pink walls, floor and ceiling for a few days, that there is a high risk to loose your eyesight? Since it would just 'burn' your retina away? Aweful isn't it?

No I haven't forgotten you all and yes, I will continue whenever inspiration strikes me down. XD It's short but better beware of the fluffyness. XD

~o~o~o~

**13. Pink  
><strong>by Misty Mina

"C'mon."

"Uh uh."

"Jus' a bit."

"Uh Uh!"

This argument had been going on for cycles now and Inferno wasn't one to back down so easily. He could be very convincing if he had to. And once he'd be getting his way, Red Alert would see that he'd been right the whole time long.

"Jus' one dot, is all."

"No, no, no!" Was the clear answer now, followed by a frustrated ping.

"Aww, not even fer meh?"

A small glare, then a huff and with that he was being ignored by the other. That's when Red Alert entered their shared quarters.

"...Inferno?"

"Yeah?" He turned to his mate with innocent optics.

A small chirp of relieve went through the room. The security director could already guess what went through his mate's helmet and he wasn't very pleased.

"How many times do you need to hear it? No means 'No'!"

"But, ...but ..."

Red Alert walked over and picked up the small protoform.

"I think Glimmer made it quite clear that she hates pink. So if you want our little sparkling to have a new paint job, you'll have to choose a color she likes or leave her as she is." He'd felt the frustration of his little femme and knew what this was about.

The fire truck pouted. He'd always thought Glimmer would look so much cuter with pink or at least rose and white colors. Much better than the angry, glaring red she had now. Sadly, Glimmer didn't have the soft red color like his mate, but got his' darker tone instead. She was his little proto princess, not a brute fire truck like himself and every bot should see that.

Red Alert shook his helmet. He didn't mean to be harsh to his mate, but their sparkling was a thinking and feeling being. To totally ignore her wishes and thoughts, would be like denying her existence. An idea flashed through Red's hard drive.

"Say Glimmer, ...why do like that color?" He pointed to her red stripes and she curiously followed his finger and looked down on herself.

Small giggling trills could be heard.

"Easy... is Creator Color!"

Red Alert smiled and hugged her close. She was still his emotionally brilliant, little sparklet. She might not be skilled with words and it would still take some time for her to talk properly, but she always got her point across. For her, red was red. The same colors her creators had. Why change that?

Inferno was at a loss for words. He'd never thought of it like this. Pink made no sense for her, because it wasn't in their paint job. Seeing her Creator with a dumbfounded expression on his face plates got a happy laugh out of the little femme.

Silently laughing at Inferno's 'defeat' together with his creation; Red Alert shifted Glimmer from one arm to the other.

"Well, I guess that makes sense, don't you think 'Ferno? If that was all, then we should go to the med bay now, it's time for Glimmer's check up."

The femme frowned at that. She liked the grumpy medic, but not the check ups. Noticing her upset frown, Red lightly stroked her small helmet which earned him a content whir.

"I'm sure Ratchet has one or two energon goodies for you, Glimmer." Somehow the CMO always had them, at least for her.

Nodding she looked up at him with big dark blue optics.

"...Uncle 'Sides there?"

"Perhaps. I know he has to go to the med bay sooner or later." Red saw Sideswipe's small accident while he'd raced through the corridors with his brother. That's why it wasn't allowed in the first place, but the twins never listened to him anyway. So an ill-tempered medic doing the repairs should be just the right punishment.

Hearing that, Glimmer raised up her tiny arms, almost falling out of her Carrier's hug.

"YAY!"

She liked her uncle Sunny and her uncle Sides. But what made her laugh was when one or both of them had to visit the med bay. Then it wouldn't take long and uncle Ratchet got mad at them for being stupid. Their antics were always a highlight in Glimmer's everyday life.

Inferno had yet to move or come out of his standby mode. Deciding he would come around sooner or later, the security director left the room with his offspring. He didn't want to anger the CMO by missing the appointment. It took a few more clicks for the fire truck to reboot himself, but once he did, he ran after his two most precious sparks in the universe.

"'ey, wait fer meh!"

~o~o~o~

...

I have no readers left, because the fluff killed them all. XD

I really fell in love with that sparklet and felt the need to write another one-shot with her in it. I'm tempted to write more about her and her adventures, but only with enough support. So all Glimmer-Fans when you review and you want, no 'need' to read more about her, then type: **'Glimmer, light my way!'** XD


	14. 14 Gift

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:**Oh my, ...is it Nr. 14 already? Things are looking up. Thank you so much for reading my Oneshots and of course for loving my little sweetspark Glimmer so much. XD I wish I could post this on the 14th, but I'll be very busy. It would so fit. Chapter nr. 14 on the 14th *sigh* oh well. Cookies for those who'll find out why the 14th is one of my fav. days. XD Enjoy.

~o~o~o~

**14. Gift  
><strong>by Misty Mina

Inferno was in trouble. Forget that! He was in a spark threatening situation. No, it wasn't a Decepticon attack. It also wasn't Wheeljack's newest experiment an he hadn't stepped into one of the Twin's pranks, ...yet.

No this was much worse. As in 'Grimlock-on-Highgrade' worse!

Red Alert was carefree! No paranoia streaks or conspiracy theories either. Not only that, he caught him happily humming occasionally and only in their shared quarters. Which meant one of two things. Either something very good had happened... like kicking Megatron's aft into the next black hole. Very unlikely. Or... an anniversary was coming up. 'Very' likely!

The Fire Truck admitted he didn't check his chrono-files daily and was too lazy to update those continuously. But that was before he got together with Red Alert, who had a hunch to keep tabs on certain events. Inferno would never forget that one time when he'd forgotten their 'first date' anniversary. Well it was not really a first date, but it sounded much better than 'Hiding in a cave and waiting for reinforcement' anniversary. He honestly had thought they were going to deactivate that day.

However, the punishment for his sloppy chrono files was maddening. Red Alert would never hurt him physically, but being ignored by him couldn't have been worse. Primus, the withdrawal symptoms were still fresh in his hard drive.

He couldn't go through that again! Never ever again!

All he had to think of was what anniversary would come up this time.

First kiss? ...Nope.

First time in the berth. Not something Red would celebrate right?!

First time Red had seduced him? Did that even count since he did it without intending to?

He had to remember, he just had to!

Days went by and Inferno was on the verge of frying his processor. He couldn't think of anything! It had to be something serious since the Lamborghini had taken that day off and now, there were only three days left.

He went to Smokescreen to ask for advice. As their psychiatrist, he was sworn to secrecy after all. Which meant, no word of their conversation would reach the security director. Yet all the Datsun told him was to do some damage control by getting a gift. The occasion didn't matter as long as he had one.

Well that was easy. Red loved Energon drops. It was Energon in small, waterdrop-shaped, crystallized form. I would melt when it came in contact with heat.

It was a close call, but Perceptor had finished them right in time.

The fire engine would apologize for forgetting whatever it was they were celebrating later. For now, all that mattered was Red's happiness. As long as he wouldn't ignore him again, Inferno would be willing to do anything and more.

Taking a deep tank of air, Inferno entered their quarters and almost forgot to let it out. The lights had been dimmed. Not by much, but enough to notice the difference. Soft music played in the background and Inferno almost failed to notice that it wasn't the noise which only humans could call music. No this was something their kind played when a special celebration was held.

He knew it! It was serious! And seeing Red's happy and trusting cerulean optics didn't help the red mech. Not one bit. He felt ashamed to the spark. When the Lamborghini was about to say something, Inferno stopped him just in time by holding up his servo. Smokescreen had made it sound so easy, ...but in truth it wasn't. He just couldn't lie to his love.

"Red, ...I ...I forgot. I'm so sorry. I tried to remember but ...but..." Oh why couldn't he just say it?

Red Alert's optics lit up in alarm. Inferno had forsaken his accent... what was he upset about? Something was shoved into his arms and it took a while to realize that it was a box. And from the sound of it, those were Energon drops. That somehow didn't make sense.

"Uhm, ...Inferno you..."

"Red, ...Maybeh I don' record each event, ...but, tha' doesn' mean I don' love yah... I..." Before Inferno could continue he felt small fingers over his lip components, silencing him in the gentlest way.

"Inferno,..." Those optics. By Primus, those cerulean optics lightening in amusement or happiness was all he needed. All he would ever need.

"...You are not supposed to give gifts today. You should receive them."

Wait! He should what? Weren't anniversaries about mutual exchange? He tried to form a clever or at least half intelligent answer, but all that heft his vocalizer was: "Huh?"

Red grinned in response. No Anger, no hurt and no bitterness.

"You really forgot, didn't you?" Red Alert shook his helmet, still astonished by his lover's cluelessness..

"'Ferno, today is... your sparkday."

Inferno needed a breem before his systems could reboot themselves. Sparkday? Already? Wasn't that still a few decades away in this world? Primus, this planet was messing with his chronometer. He'd gotten so used to earth's time that he never changed his chronometer back to cybertronian standards. Why should he? He didn't need to because they were stranded on earth anyway. But obviously it paid off to do so from time to time. So, ...did that mean he'd been worried for nothing and had freaked out over his own sparkday?

Red saved him from further embarrassment by hugging him around the middle.

"It's ok. My chronometer has been way off since we crashed here. I tended to mess up dates and data, but I've found a new way to remember them. C'mon, let me show you your gift." He let him go and tugged at the fire trucks servo. But said mech didn't even think of letting him go. Inferno tugged back and with one pull, Red was exactly were he'd been kliks ago.

Inferno wouldn't let go of him. He would be a moronic fragtard, as Ratchet sometimes kindly dubbed him, if he did. He didn't need expensive, great or practical gifts. Nobody could ever give him what he already had.

The greatest gift ever, ...right here in his arms.

~o~o~o~

End nyaaa. XD

Hope you liked it and I won't be online for the next 24 hours. *gasp* how awful. Well? Who can guess what day it is? Did you know that the word 'gift' means 'Poison' in German?


	15. 15 Lesson

**Disclaimer:** Megs, tell them all it's mine! Mwahahahaha ...ha...huh? Uhm, ...Megs? ...Oh no he ran off again. ..._*pouts* -.-_

**Author's note: **I heard your call and it shall be answered! Another Glimmer story for all the fans out there. This one is rather about Glimmer than her creators. It's about why she's the best teacher in the world. No, in the whole universe!  
>So before we start, I have a riddle for you. Why is Optimus Prime like glue? Hmmm? Oh what is that? You don't know? Then read the story and find out. Have fun. XD<p>

~o~o~o~

**15. Lesson  
><strong>by Misty Mina

It had been another tough battle against Megatron and his evil schemes. But this time, the Autobots didn't come out of that fight so easily. Many were hurt, some even critically and Optimus Prime coordinated things like he usually did. Until there was nothing left to do. At least not for him. Those who could still stand had their tasks to fulfill or took a much needed break and the rest was in the med bay under Ratchet's 'tender' care.

Optimus himself had been released from med bay with minor injuries. A few dents and a broken windshield. Nothing that needed supervision. So after he made sure that everything was under control, he went to refuel and to rest in his quarters. That was until he found a nervous Bluestreak in front of his office, which was right next to his own quarters. And he wasn't alone.

After a 'short' exchange of words with the sniper, Prime found himself in charge of a task he'd never thought he would do in his life.

Bluestreak had to report for duty and couldn't ask anyone else. Either they were busy or hurt in the med bay. So the leader of the Autobots found himself being stuck as sparklingsitter for Red Alert's and Inferno's little femme. Both of her creators were absent. Red Alert was on duty himself, checking and reprogramming their security systems and Inferno got damaged in battle.

Of course, being the one in charge of this lot, Prime was responsible for everyone, be it soldier or sparkling. He just never thought he'd be the one to watch her. He'd seen Glimmer around, but never really talked to or interacted with her. Seeing the small femme now, sitting on his desk while she happily drew pictures on paper with the colors Bluestreak had 'borrowed' from Sunstreaker, was new and unusual. He didn't know what to do other than making sure she didn't hurt herself.

Even though Bluestreak had given him the colors, a small bottle with glitter, glue and advised him to cut paper for her if she asked for it; he still felt 'unfit' for the task. Not that he was too good for it. More like it was out of his field and he was the wrong mech for the job. It was like asking Ironhide to help out in the med bay as a nurse.

He never had much time to think about his personal matters or his own life. But since he had nothing better to do than watching little Glimmer, he found himself questioning himself. He was the leader of the Autobots and had been declared Prime a long time ago. But he hadn't been 'built' for it. There was no primary function he was made for unlike most of his own soldiers.

Optimus went through his data base. Glimmer's creators for example. Red Alert was a security unit and Inferno a rescue bot. They were made for their tasks and they were good at it. As if on cue, Glimmer waved a picture at him which showed her little family. Red Alert, on the left side, was of course smaller than Inferno who seemed to fill out the right side of the picture and with Glimmer floating right between them. She had completely disregarded details, esthetics and physical laws. The typical view and thinking process of a sparkling.

"That's very nice Glimmer. Do you want to draw another?"

The little femme nodded enthusiastically and grabbed another sheet of paper. There! Distracted and happy. Easy, right? Or maybe it wasn't? What if she got hungry? Sparklings couldn't take normal energon, that much he knew. But what then? Should he call Ratchet? Maybe ask Red Alert? But wouldn't that sway his soldiers in their trust in him? The great Optimus Prime didn't even know how to watch a sparkling?

Well, she looked content for the moment while she busied herself with a new picture. Maybe he shouldn't worry so much and take things as they come. He took a look at the new picture and if he interpreted the crosses on the bot right, then she drew Ratchet who was about to throw a very big wrench after someone. He almost laughed out loud, but managed to keep it in. Ratchet was a good medic, he shouldn't laugh, no matter how true the picture was. The CMO had looked exactly like that when Prime offered to help in the med bay. Not that he had the knowledge, but maybe he could have done the minor tasks.

Glimmer was probably in an artistic mood since she took another sheet. From the helmet of the figure alone, Optimus knew she was drawing Wheeljack. Those headfins were unique after all. Wheeljack helped out in the med bay right now. As engineer, he had the basic knowledge of cybertronian frames.

Optimus realized then that he couldn't keep up with his own soldiers.

He knew he'd never invented anything. He didn't have any medical knowledge other than how to weld a cut. He didn't know how to reprogram the security systems or anything else and he didn't have a rescue altmode. And being one of the bigger mechs, he couldn't sneak around like Jazz or Mirage. So Special Ops wasn't his field either.

Granted he was skilled with weapons and he could wield a cannon as well as Ironhide. But other than carrying heavy things like his altmode showed, he wasn't that special. So what made him leader?

He was brought out of his musings when he heard a curious whir from his desk. Glimmer looked right at him with expecting dark blue optics. Oh great, he'd spaced out. Some sparklingsitter he was. There were many pictures over his whole desk. Was she out of paper? No? Then what?

"Something wrong?" He asked softly, not wanting to scare the little femme. He knew his height and his battle mask tended to intimidate others.

"...You sad!" She stated.

It was astounding how observant she was. Perhaps he should've expected it, since one of her creators was the ever observing and paranoid security director.

"No, I'm not." He shook his helmet.

The femme pouted and pointed a finger at him.

"Lie!" A heavy and very true accusation. And only the little femme could get away with calling him a liar.

If Prime had any doubts before, then he didn't anymore. She was definitely Red Alert's offspring! Obviously she didn't like to be lied to and noticed it right away. Or maybe he wasn't careful enough.

"Maybe a bit." Optimus picked up the papers one after another under Glimmer's scrutinizing optics.

He was surprised how many pictures she'd drawn while he'd spaced out. How long was he out of it? Aside from the three pictures he'd seen, there were pictures of Jazz and Blaster dancing, Ironhide firing his cannon, Prowl, Bluestreak and Smokescreen playing cards, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker laughing, Bumblebee running away from Cliffjumper and Hound hugging Mirage? He would have to talk to them about their behavior in front of younger crew members. It wasn't the entire crew, but he assumed she hadn't met or talked to all of them yet.

" ...'bout?" Glimmer cocked her little helmet to the side. A habit she'd probably copied from Inferno.

"Hmm?" While looking through her artwork, he'd already forgotten what he'd said.

"You sad! About?" It was broken and clumsy, but she tried to make him understand. Humans would say she was about the age of a toddler, so she was still learning how to talk and form sentences.

Should he say anything? What good would it do? She was just a sparkling after all. Perhaps he should distract her.

"What do you want to do with all those pictures?" Yes, this was better. He didn't feel like explaining himself, not to a sparkling anyway.

Miffed at him for not answering her question, Glimmer took the pictures and put them neatly on the desk. She had nine pictures and put three of them in three rows. All were drawn in a horizontal way. So when she aligned the papers it made one, symmetrically, big picture. Optimus commented on a few pictures. That Wheeljack not always blew himself up like Glimmer drew it. The engineer was very smart and came up with many useful things. Or that Jazz and Blaster made every party into a great event. And that Smokescreen would always win every card game because he could read his opponents faceplates.

Glimmer looked at him in wonder. There was something in the big mech's voice and that something made him sad. She clearly heard it. He was just too stubborn to admit it!

Optimus noticed someone was missing when he looked at the great masterpiece.

Feigning hurt, he pointed at himself.

"Aw and me? I'm not there." Oh Primus, this was so embarrassing. Hopefully none of the soldiers would ever hear him talk like that. What he didn't do for little sparklings. He expected her to say that maybe she would draw him later or that he was too big for the paper. Instead she grabbed the glue and held it out to him. Prime put on a thoughtful look, like he really had to solve a great problem.

"Oh, helping or not? I guess, ...I'll help."

Glimmer pointed at the edge where she wanted the glue with a few remarks like: 'here' and 'there'. With his help, all the single pictures became a big family portrait. A real piece of art, big enough to cover the little femme like a blanket or as big as one of his old galaxy maps.

"There all finished. Hmmm, that is strange. I still can't see myself. Did I get lost?" He looked left and right from the desk as if searching for something. Of course he teased the small sparkling all in good fun. But it somehow stung him to see this portrait.

A big family without him.

What did that say about Glimmer's perception? He wasn't Smokescreen. The gambler was usually the one who made up the psychological profiles of the crew members. But he wasn't stupid either. The sparkling knew many bots and interacted with a few of them on a daily basis. He wasn't part of that.

He wasn't part of that family.

Glimmer frowned at him, like he was talking in riddles. Of course he was there! What was the point of this if he couldn't understand? She grabbed the glue again and pointed it at him.

"You!"

Thinking this was a game to her, Optimus played along. He held a servo over his optics as if searching for something far away.

"What? Where?"

The Prime looked down again when she trilled in frustration. What? Had he done something wrong?

Glimmer was frustrated at her own inability to talk properly and to make others understand what she wanted. Her Carrier was better at guessing, but most were just like her Creator. The big mech just didn't understand!

Standing up, she took the big portrait, then shook it wildly like trying to shake the dirt from a tarp or like the humans would shake out a blanket to clean it from cookie crumbs. No matter how much effort she put in, the glue held the single pictures in their place. Then she held it up like a curtain, practically disappearing behind it. Prime was so big that even while she stood on his desk, she still had to look up to him.

"You keep together!"

...

It took a few kliks to reboot his processor.

Her reaction had startled him. He hadn't expected for her to get angry, but then he noticed that the source of her anger wasn't really him. More a mix out of her inability to talk, of his sad, almost depressed mood and his ignorance. He'd failed to notice what she was trying to tell him. Taking the picture from her small servos, he looked at it again. This time, he really 'looked' and tried to see what Glimmer had seen the whole time long.

A family portrait made out of nine single pictures.

One picture.  
>One world.<br>One ninth of a whole.

Together they created a new 'whole'.  
>A new world.<br>A new picture.

But this was meaningless without the glue to keep it that way. Keep it whole. Keep their world together and create the family portrait.

Glimmer had reminded him of what he had forgotten. Maybe even blocked out long ago. The reason he was made Prime in the first place.

He was a Keeper.

The Keeper of the Matrix of Leadership.

He had kept them all together through everything.

Maybe he wasn't as skilled as the rest, but that wasn't what made him who he was.

Shame on him.

He'd been too blind to see what should have been obvious. Oddly touched at the revelation he looked at the little femme only to see her smiling brightly at him. Pleased that he finally understood her. Red Alert had chosen the perfect designation for the little one. A small glimmer when the days were dark and the problems endless.

Reaching out, he stroked over Glimmer's small helmet carefully like he'd seen Red Alert do it a few times. The little femme accepted the affectionate gesture and gave a few content chirps. A ping notified the Prime of an incoming message from Red Alert who was asking around for the whereabouts of his little sparkling. Bluestreak must have forgotten to tell him. He sent an answer and told him to come to his office. It was time for the little one to go back to her part of their great family.

Red Alert almost barged into his office, apologizing for being late, for troubling him with his own troubles and that he would find better sparklingsitters. Glimmer gave a happy warble and held out her arms, wanting to be picked up by her Carrier. The security director complied in a nano klik and cradled her in his arms.

"I'm really sorry Optimus. I should have told Bluestreak that Hoist could take care of her as well. I hope she didn't cause any trouble."

Optimus shook his helmet.

"No she didn't. In fact ...we had an interesting conversation."

If his optics were anything to go by, Red Alert would say that his leader smiled behind his battle mask. It had been a long time since he'd seen him like this. Red had feared that the stress of the last few months was a lot to handle for the Prime. Maybe even too much. But now, he was much calmer. Free of a burden he'd been carrying around for a long time. It seemed a bit farfetched, yet he couldn't help but think that Glimmer had something to do with it. Glad to see Optimus like this he smiled back.

"Really? I wonder what about."

"That's ...a secret."

A bit puzzled at the Prime's playfulness, Red looked down at Glimmer. She lifted a finger to her lip components and made a hissing sound, then giggled mischievously. Wonderful, now his offspring had her first secret from him. But it couldn't be so bad if Optimus was her partner in crime, so he laughed it off.

"Fine, I won't ask. Thank you for looking after her. Next time, I'll ask Hoist first."

"Oh I wouldn't mind to watch her again, if I can." Really, it was actually fun and enlightening as well. She should spend some time with Smokescreen. Optimus was sure she could cure the Datsun's pathological gambling as well. If not, then maybe the Ark's resident psychologist could learn one or two things from her.

Red Alert was speechless by the Prime's generous offer. What had Glimmer done to him? Maybe he should keep both optics on her from now on. Or one day she'd have the whole Ark on her beck and call.

A small yawn brought him out of his muted state. Little Glimmer was tired and snuggled closer to her Carrier, barely keeping her optics online.

"Only if you really don't mind Optimus. I don't want to impose on you. If you excuse me, I still want to check up on Inferno." He shifted Glimmer from one arm to the other, jostling the small femme awake. She didn't mind though.

Prime nodded, but then he remembered what he still held in his servos.

"Glimmer, what about your picture?" He held it out to her or at least to Red Alert to take it, but Glimmer shook her helmet.

"Do..." Another yawn came out. "...what you ...do."

Red Alert wasn't sure what that had meant, but a look at his leader told him he knew what she was talking about. Was this also their 'secret'? When the first tendrils of his glitch tried to worm their ways into his processor, he mercilessly stomped down on them. No way would he have any conspiracy theories concerning his own sparkling!

Optimus understood and put the picture down.

The Prime was amazed at the depth behind those simple words. For Glimmer, this was normal. She viewed the world differently than others. She had Red Alert's observation skill and his perception and since she didn't have a glitch, she could use the gift the right way. Combined with Inferno's kindness and empathy, she could brighten anyone's day with the smallest gesture.

Glimmer waved tiredly at him when Red Alert left his office. A few breems later, the picture was on the wall in his quarters. A reminder for him to be what he was. He wasn't a multi-talented mech and didn't have to be.

Do what you do.

What you always do and what you do best.

Keep.

Keep the picture.

Be the Keeper.

~o~o~o~

End. XD

And? Do you know the answer now? X3

As to what inspired me to write it like this. I did some thinking on Optimus Prime's character. We all have our ups and downs, so why shouldn't he have them as well?  
>I think he needed someone with a neutral point of view. Not someone who relied on his judgement and Glimmer filled out that role nicely. I really consider on 'blessing' the rest of the crew with little sparklings as well. XD Should I? Or should I not?...<p> 


	16. 16 Conversation

**Disclaimer:** Megs, tell them all it's mine! Mwahahahaha ...ha...huh? Uhm, ...Megs? ...Oh no he ran off again. ..._*pouts* -.-_

**Author's note: **Oh lol. Call me nuts, but this idea actually came to me while watching My Little Pony. Hope you'll like it. It's short but funny. Enjoy.

~o~o~o~

**16. Conversation  
><strong>by Misty Mina

The conversation was going back and forth. Going from 'Somewhere' to 'Nowhere' then back to 'Somewhere'. And if he heard it right, the main topic was that fire truck. What was his designation again? Oh yes, Inferno. How could he forget? It wasn't like the bot hadn't been mentioned every two kliks or so. Sighing softly, he leaned back into his seat. This sure went on for awhile.

'Inferno this and Inferno that' was all he had listened to for the past breem. Both, in the positive and negative sense. This was giving him a huge data storm. It made him partly wonder if the mentioned mech was really that great or bad.

If he just could rip out the information he was searching for, but that wasn't possible as long as those two were distracted by talking to the other. Just a minute of silence would be enough to slip past them.

'_I just have to wait. He will come.'_

'_That's what you always say. In the end it's always someone else who comes to your aid.'_

'_It's not like he could help it last time. He had to save the others!'_

'_Oh you mean like the time where you almost got deactivated, yes?'_

It was like looking at a human game called 'Tennis'. Why? Why couldn't he just interrupt this conversation? Like screaming: 'Hey you, mute it because I need some info, ok?' ...Because that would give him away and he wouldn't get anything. He pressed his servo against his helmet, hoping to ease some of the pain from the data storm.

'_Inferno was so nice to me lately, maybe he really cares?'_

'_You sure? Don't you think it's because he's merely trying to get you into his berth?'_

'_...Would that be such a bad thing?'_

'_...Uhm, ...I guess not.'_

Too much information! This was certainly not what he was looking for! Enough was enough! Frag it all to the pit and back! He couldn't and wouldn't listen to this any longer.

'_...But what if he wants more? Like getting bonded?'_

'_Is that your only problem? I think you should worry about something else.'_

'_Like what?'_

'_...like if he's any good at interfacing!'_

Gaaaaaaahhhh! Make it stop! Oh, MAKE IT STOP!

He didn't care if the data storm got worse when slamming his helmet into the console in front of him. Actually, he hoped it would be enough for his circuits to fry and shut down his systems, just to erase this whole conversation!

And that's how Rumble and Frenzy found their creator Soundwave when they entered the med bay of the base where they held their prisoner captive and sedated. They both decided it would be the best for Soundwave's mental health if they let the Autobot Security Director free. Because it would be easier to deal with a furious Megatron later, than a mentally damaged creator.

~o~o~o~

end? _'Yes end!'_

Lol. If you didn't know what this was all about let me explain. This was actually a conversation between Red Alert and his glitch. Soundwave tried to get some info by reading Red's mind, but how do you do that with a glitch in the way?

In the end Red Alert almost drove Soundwave mad. Or maybe he did, who knows? XD _'Well, that's why it's a CON-versation, ne?'_

I loved it when Pinkie Pie screamed 'Make it stop!' while she thought she had to tell the truth. XD. You could imagine it sounded like that. I must say I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of reviews for my last cahpter, but I think I know the source of the problem. Just that day many people had problems reviewing chapters for different stories because FFnet did some updating. Me too. -.- Hope you can review this chapter now.


	17. 17 Storm

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note: **I'm not dead yet. And my fanfics won't die either! The last 10 months were hell. Things happened and somehow it didn't seem to get better. My grandma passed away, I lost one of my best friends and now I lost my job as well and to top it all, it's my birthday. Great gift, really. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I called a few old contacts and got another job. Hope this one will turn out better than the last. Things will be better from now on! I know it! And to celebrate my new job and my birthday I give this little gift to my readers. Enjoy.

~o~o~o~

**17. Storm  
><strong>by Misty Mina

It was common knowledge that a storm can come in different forms. Or so he'd thought. Until now, Inferno thought a storm was only a disturbed state of an environment. A force which affected not only one but many. Now, he wasn't so sure any more. Many 'emotional' storms raged through his spark and processor when he was with Red Alert. Certainly not a healthy thing to feel, ...no it just couldn't be.

Who liked a Thunderstorm in their spark? Each raindrop a pulse as loud as thunder. The other's presence sweeping him of his peds like the strong, howling wind. And this was even the light version of the many storms raging through his spark depending on the circumstances. Could he even describe and name all of them?

The Thunderstorm was almost an everyday occurrence. The other states of his CPU were more worrisome than that.

Like the Blizzard he felt when Red had one of his paranoia streaks. He usually let it out on others and most of all on him, since he was around him almost nonstop. Cold words laced with a cutting edge, trying to freeze his spark and bury his feelings. Making him shiver and crave for merciful warmth. He would always brave the storm, for he knew it couldn't last forever. Soon the icy accusations would be replaced by warm apologies. His comforting reward for bearing with it.

Or the tropical cyclone whenever someone else would notice the Lamborghini. The dark clouds of jealousy which covered his normally sunny mood and the destructive aggression he felt when they merely looked at Red with other optics than military professionalism. Inferno was a different mech then. Someone he didn't like. A ruthless being who pushed each and everyone out of his path. Only when he was sure Red Alert wouldn't look at them in any other way than through an observing camera, to ensure their safety, would he calm down.

However they were nothing compared to the Sandstorm he felt when Red's good mood or sane state of CPU would become too much for him to handle. A rare, gentle smile like water in the desert.

Too rare and too little.

It would always leave him dry and craving for more. The sharp grains of trust and friendship, which would constantly grind against the battered wall of his self-control, made it hard for his systems to circulate and left him with the wish to go and cool down for just a short moment. It never did him any good. He knew he needed the warmth, even if it felt like it could fry each and every cable in his frame. Because the next Blizzard would come for sure.

It felt strange when he first experienced them. He knew those feelings, but only one at a time and for different situations. Not packed into one cute, compassionate, determined, smart, beautiful, red-white mech.

He could only imagine the reaction it would cause in him if the eye of his inner storms knew of those feelings. Either it would rise into a scorching Solar Storm or it would create the greatest Blizzard and pummel his spark into an everlasting ice age. All he could do for now was wait and see what the next storm would bring. And if the Sandstorms increased, then maybe he could raise the heat a bit. One burning solar flare at a time, which would cause the resulting solar storm.

It may be a long process, but Inferno was never one to complain if he had a goal in sight. And his goal was to return the favor tenfold to Red Alert.

After all, what do the humans say?!

Love is always a Hurricane.

~o~o~o~

Hope it was all to your liking and I'll try to update more often. I'll be away for two weeks, yay for summer vacation before the new job starts. XD Thank you if you're still with me after all this time. It means so much to me.


	18. 18 Time

**Disclaimer:** Mine? _*all Autobots*_ NO, IT'S NOT! ... _*pouts*_ ok, ok...it's not.

**Author's note:** When I uploaded my last chapter, I noticed that I had this one already uploaded on deiviantart as nr. 17. Appearantly I forgot to upload this on FF-net back then and later forgot it existed on deviantart. I messed up, I know. So I chose to fix this with little effort and changed the numbers on DA. And with this upload, everything will be fixed. Enjoy.

~o~o~o~

**18. Time  
><strong>by Misty Mina

Time was something that existed on each and every world. It was a unit which only an intelligent creature acknowledged as a higher power. While a lesser being wouldn't even notice how it passed by. Time was older than every race, older than the universe and even older than death. Before death comes birth and the span in between was time.

Inferno checked his chronometer more often these days. First, each joor, then each breem, now he checked it every klik.

How long?

_Tick..._

How long until they would release him?

_Tock..._

How long until they would do something?

_Tick..._

How long until they would find what he had lost?

_Tock..._

It had been so long since Red Alert went missing. Or more precisely, since Inferno had failed his job, ...again. Last time should have taught him a lesson. Yet, he didn't listen. Never did in fact. It took a while until he noticed Red's absence, but when he did, his systems nearly short-circuited.

_Tick Tock_...

Red Alert hadn't come back from the battlefield. ...Hadn't come back to him.

Asking around didn't get him anywhere. Nobody had seen the Lamborghini. Even worse. Nobody had noticed he was missing until he'd pointed it out. It was like he'd vanished into thin air. Inferno wanted go out and look for him, but was too damaged to do so. Also Ratchet wouldn't let him leave the med bay like that.

The next time he woke up, one earth day had passed by. Twenty four earth hours without Red Alert.

_Tick Tock Tick..._

In the end, the search team came back with empty servos. But Optimus Prime had ordered them to keep looking. He wanted his security director back, preferably in one piece.

Inferno counted the days and after a week, he started to throw a fit. Saying things he wouldn't even think of if he'd been in his right processor; while he tried to fight his way out of the base. To wait and see Time passing by was something he couldn't bear. It wouldn't bring back his charge!

His actions against the crew landed him in the brig in nanokliks. For his own protection, of course. Or so they said.

The kliks on his chronometer seemed to slow down while he waited.

Waiting again...

He didn't achieve anything, did he? Time was mocking him.

Mocking his previous actions.  
>Mocking his sad state.<br>...Mocking his helplessness.

He should be out there looking for Red, instead of sitting in the brig and listening to Time's laughter.

_Tick Tock Tick Tock..._

Why in Primus' name had he calibrated his chronometer to the sound of earth clocks? More importantly, how could humans stand that sound? Inferno tried to recharge, but his data would only run wild. Always putting his imagination and worst fears on repeat.

Red, being a Decepticon prisoner.  
>Or Red being shot and damaged, waiting for help. Waiting for him!<br>And his worst fear. Red being taken apart by Megatron to get all security files.

Onlining with a start, he looked at his chronometer once more. ...Figures, Time was making fun of him again. Because only one measly earth hour had passed since his last check.

_Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick..._

Each klik spent in here was killing him. Bringing him closer to Depression's abyss and Despair's door.

Nothing to do.  
>Nobody to talk to.<br>No Red Alert...

The pit couldn't be worse.

What he wouldn't give for some good news now. Somebody should tell him everything was ok. Somebody should tell him Red was fine. Please somebody, anybody, ...no, not 'anybody'...

_*Please Red... come back and let me out of here.*_

Because the only way out of the brig was if Red Alert came back and ordered it. That's how it should be. How it 'must' be. Only his spark, his everything could make Time fly by.

Until then, he would wait and endure Time's oppressive presence. And whether he would see Red again in this life or the next, well...

... only Time could tell.

_Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock, ...Tock_

~o~o~o~

End.

It's short, but I didn't want to go too deep into that. You could see it as a short sequel of chapter Nr. 7. In a few sentences, I wrote the word time with a capital T on purpose. Because I refer to it as a being or incarnation.

The song 'Jigoku Tsuushin' from the soundtrack of 'Jigoku Shoujo' (Hellgirl) was a great help here. Try listening to it while reading the fanfic. Review?


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